Pythor's revenge
by TombRaiderNinja
Summary: Pythor has returned, this time with a diabolical plot soaked in sweet vengeance. The purple-eyed child is the key to everything and when the snake gets his hands on her, The chaos he'll unleash will be far stronger than anything the Ninja have faced before. Rated T for violence. Please review your opinions/Comments help loads! LloydXOC.
1. Alone

Chapter one- Alone

Naomi opened her bright purple eyes and rubbed away a bit of dream that stuck to her eyelids. She sat up and enjoyed the short minutes of silence before her grandmother awakened . Her eyes wondered over to the small portrait sitting on her nightstand, in it was a boy with black swoop hair arms crossed apparently annoyed at having to take a picture. Beside him stood a man with a big smile and a jet black French mustache. She sighed her heart feeling so homesick it wouldn't have surprised her if it jumped out of her chest, homeward bound. She'd been living with her grandparents for 5 years now because her father hadn't been able to look at her without his heart breaking. She'd been born without a voice, and in a town where dancing and singing where the main attraction, having a kid like her was a big disappointment. Her brother had loved her though, and when she was sent off to live here he had promise to come back for her someday. Years had passed and she received no news of his brother though this wasn't really surprising since the only way to reach them would be by mail due to her grandparents hate of technology and Cole had never been fond of writing.

"Naomi, The kitchen's a mess come down here this instant," Her grandmother's voiced echoed up the stairs.

Naomi sighed. And so began another day with the wicked witch.

She slipped onto some sweatpants that where too big for her petite body and grabbed the first tee she laid her eyes upon. Half running down the stairs she arrived at the kitchen before her grandmother could give another shout.

"Why didn't you wash the dishes? I told you never go to sleep unless the kitchen is spotless"

_I did clean! _She wanted to shout, but of course she couldn't.

"Don't blame the kid I woke up early and made my own breakfast, "Her grandpa said walking in. "I should've cleaned my mess"

"No matter, She should've woken up and cleaned" She pushed her towards the dishes. "Now _clean_"

_You know what really needs cleaning? Your face! _Naomi sighed, Even though no one could hear them she really needed to work on her insults.

She washed the dishes slowly, Knowing that as soon as she finished this her grandmother would vomit other countless, and sometimes senseless, tasks. She kept her eye out towards the road imagining her brother walking down to rescue her from this living nightmare. But just like the other 1,825 mornings before this one, He didn't. But something _did_ happen on this particular morning. The tall grass around her house shuddered a bit as if someone was hiding within it, and she could've sworn she saw a flash of purple between the shades of green. When the purple color didn't return she ignored it marking it as a trick of the sunlight.

Dish after dish she washed until the kitchen was once again spotless. She stopped the water and counted . . . 1. . 2 . . . . 3. . . .

"Naomi!" Her grandmother yelled as expected. "Hurry up with breakfast I'm starving"

_Lovely grandma, Couldn't you tell me_ before _I finished cleaning?_ She groaned inside, now the kitchen would be a mess again and she'd be forced to clean again while losing half of her morning.

_Again_.

Naomi made some pancakes, while practicing her insults and thinking how very badly she wanted to go outside. While her attention was trapped in this mindless task her grandfather's voice sneaked through her thoughts.

"Get the shotgun" There was a creaking sound representing her grandfathers weight lifting off the couch. "There's one of them serpentine Richard warned us about"

Serpentine? As in Snake-people her dad had written about? A loud shattering sound made her jump back and peek into the living room. In the middle of the room stood a big purple snake, her grandfather pointed the gun at it but the snake pushed it out of his grip with a quick whip of its tail.

"Let's not allow guns to ruin this shall we?"Its voice was deep yet soothing, rooting Naomi to the spot. The snake wrapped it's thick tail around her grandparents its mouth opening wide ready to swallow them both.

"Naomi run!"Her grandfather's voice snapped her back to her senses and she shot up the stairs, Feeling like a coward for leaving her grandparents in such a predicament but knowing that there was no chance she could harm the snake. She knew she only had seconds before it was done and came over to finish her off too, so with no time to spare she jumped out of her bedroom's window. The house wasn't particularly tall and she remembered the thick bushes right below her window would assure that no bones would be broken in the process. Ignoring the few cuts on her arms she quickly got on her feet and onto her bike riding down the unpaved road as fast as her small legs could take her, fearing that any second now a strong tail would wrap around her body crushing her bones before being eaten alive. Naomi had no idea where she was, much less what she was heading to the only thing in her mind was getting as far away as possible from the purple-scaled snake. As she rode further and further away and her cuts started stinging because there was no more adrenaline to keep the pain away, She realized how completely utterly alone she was.

...

So the girl had gotten away. No matter, Pythor thought picking up the small portrait with one of the ninja; He knew just where to find her. Chuckling to himself he slid back down the stairs. The ninja ha thought he was done for, eaten by the devourer but just like sensei wu he had survived. And now he was stronger, smarter and with an even more diabolical plot forming through his mind.

**(Well that's the first chapter, I really hope you enjoy and keep reading because I assure you it gets loads better. I can't go more than one chapter without outting some action. Please review :) the more reviews the more inspired I get the faster I update! Also I don't own Ninjago but I do own Naomi, There's probably other Naomis out there but this one is mine! Either way go ahead and spinjitzu over to the next chapter ) )**


	2. Who is she Cole?

Chapter Two- Who is she Cole?

Naomi's legs could take her no further and she stopped her bike and jumped off looking around the small village she had reached. She must've been a sight, with the messy black her and bloody arms every passerby stared for a few seconds. No one approached her and offered help, they just quickened their pace while walking beside her.

_Great now what? I'm god knows where looking like I just rode a tornado _She thought _my favorite part is I can't ask for help._

Sure, she could go around asking for help in her sign language but really there was probably no one who would understand her. If she'd been thought how to write she could probably do that but her father had never sent her to school, keeping her inside like a dark secret. It was hopeless; she'd ridden all the way here for nothing.

"Ha I remember when we hung you up on that pole Lloyd" A very very familiar voice said. "You where such a brat back then."

Heart slamming hard against her ribs, Naomi turned around and relief flooded over her as her eyes took in her brother. She didn't care why he was dressed as a ninja, or why he was accompanied by 4 others dressed similar to him but in different colors. She didn't stop to think how she'd explain leaving her grandparents behind. All that was on her mind was, _Brother is here everything'll be ok._

She ran to him and slammed a tight hug against him. He stepped back a little almost losing his balance, then he looked down at the crazy haired girl and his eyes widened with recognition. "Naomi?"

She let go of him and his eyes went straight to her wounds. "What happened? Did you run away? Why are you hurt? How did you find me?"

The other ninja looked from the girl then back at Cole, keeping quiet as the girl's hands moved with agility her and Cole's expressions changing. Finally Jay could stay quiet no longer.

"Who is she Cole? What's going on?"

"I'll explain in a second" Cole's hands attempted to fix Naomi's hair a little. "We need to get her back to the bounty"

_The bounty?_ Naomi's hands asked

"Yes" He took her hand, "Come on"

The ninja retreated back to the bounty where Cole took Naomi straight to Nya. "Nya this is my sister, I'll explain later but please she's hurt can you help?"

Nya nodded and took Naomi and Cole walked back to the others who were waiting impatiently for an explanation.

"Now are you gonna spill the beans?" Jay protested, Impatient.

"Yeah Cole who was that?"Lloyd ask moving his hair off his emerald green eyes.

"That" Cole answered, "Was my sister"

"Sister?" Kai babbled. "I thought you were an only child"

"You never mentioned another member in your family" Zane agreed

"I know" Cole sighed. "She lived with my grandparents because my dad couldn't bear to look at her it was 'Heart breaking' for him. Once I settled down I was going to go back for her, My grandmother can be a real pain in the butt, But then sensei found me and I became a ninja and well . . . I thought she'd be safer where she was."

"Whoa whoa whoa hold your horses," Jay chuckled a bit. "What do you mean 'Heart breaking'? She looks fine to me"

Kai smacked Jay upside the head. "Didn't you see her using sign language? She obviously can't talk"

"Ooooh"

"Yeah," Cole nodded. "And imagine, I couldn't do _one_ dance move and that gained me enough embarrassment for a life time but at least I could sing but Naomi was never any good at dancing and without a voice. . . Well my dad just overreacted."

"There is another thing that doesn't match up Cole" Zane said with his usual monotone. "Why was Naomi hurt? And what brought her here to us?"

Cole opened his mouth to answer, but he saw Lloyd's eyes widen and he turns.

"She's ok, her wounds weren't bad" Nya says walking down beside Naomi.

_Do I look hideous? I knew letting Nya put a dress on me was a bad idea now everyone's staring _Naomi's cheeks flushed bright red and she looked down at the soft green dress Nya had let her borrow. It wasn't long enough for her to trip on it, Since Nya was only a few inches taller than her, but she could feel how big it was on her. Nya's body was well…. Normal and Naomi's. . . Well she hadn't exactly hit puberty yet. Looking up for a second her eyes locked into those of the blonde haired boy, the connection didn't last long though because they both looked away quickly. Naomi's stomach did a back flip inside of her; causing a pleasant sensation to spread all over her body but she had no idea what it represented except that maybe she was a little hungry. But since when was hunger pleasant?

"Seems like you're not the only one that looks good in green huh?"The guy with the black and blue suit nudged the blonde-haired guy in the shoulder. "You got some competition"

Naomi relaxed a bit. So she didn't look bad in the dress. . . Unless of course the guy was being sarcastic. Was he? How could you tell? And wait a minute. . . . Why did she care?

"I'm glad you're ok," Cole pulled her close. "And now back to Zane's question. . . It seems like we got a Pythor sized problem in our hands."


	3. That weird feeling

Chapter 3- That weird feeling. . .

Naomi was exhausted, her hands sore from repeating her story over and over. Her Brother's voice must be tired too she thought, his sensei kept pressing for more and more details. As she laid down on a small bed Nya had set up for her, she wondered if voices ever got sore, what did it feel like when it got tired? Did your tongue swell up? Or maybe it started disobeying you spitting out words you never meant to say. She smiled at the thought of her brother's voice saying random things, He would definitely not be happy about that. Naomi cuddled up inside her blanket trying to find a comfortable position to sleep but every time she closed her eyes Pythor awaited her on the back of her eyelids.

Giving up on sleep, she stood up and walked out praying silently that the ship wouldn't squeak under her feet. She made it safely out onto the deck and she relaxed taking in a deep breath of fresh air. Tears filled up her eyes when she looked up at the night sky. It looked exactly like it had when she lived with her grandparents. Sure, her grandmother had been mean, but she had never forgotten any of Naomi's birthdays. And how had she repaid them? By leaving them with a murderous snake, letting them die without trying to help. If it had been her, they would have surely done something, _anything_, to keep her safe. But what had she done?

_You ran away._

_There was nothing I could do!_

_There was the shotgun. . ._

_It was too close to the snake. . ._

_Coward Coward Coward_

_Stop!_

_Coward!_

"You're not thinking off jumping of are you?" The voice that belongs to the 'Blond-haired boy' took her back onto the real world and she realized she'd been leaning over the edge of the ship.

She stepped back and turned shaking her head. A warm sensation spread across her cheeks and her heartbeat sped up a little.

"Good," The boy stood there fidgeting a little before looking up again. "So you're Naomi?"

She nodded.

"Well, I'm Lloyd"

Lloyd, She liked the name. She wondered what it could feel like to say it, would it make her mouth tingle? Would it feel soft? Warm? Sweet?

"I'm sorry about your grandparents" His hands fidgeted again. "We'll get Pythor for doing it, I kicked his face once you know"

_I wish I could do that_ Her hands said as she smiled.

"I'm sorry I don't understand"

She shrugged, She hadn't expected him to.

"You didn't insult me did you?"

Once again she smiled and shook her head.

"So why are you out here?"

Naomi thought for a second. How could she explain herself without Cole here to translate? Seems like she was gonna have to do it the hard way.

First she slowly pointed at herself.

"You" Lloyd said

She thought about it for a while then painted an x on the air and pretended to be asleep.

"X sleep?"He frowned. "You can't sleep?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

Again with the questions! How could she explain _that_? How could she signal 'scared' and 'Pythor'? This wasn't easy at all, She was going to have to teach him the sign language one of these days. That is if her brother let her stay. Did she want to stay? The thought of staying with the blonde haired boy, Lloyd she corrected herself, Cause the hunger-yet-not-hunger feeling spread through her again.

"Wait I got it, you're scared of Pythor still?"

She looked down. The way he said it made her feel like a coward all over again.

"Don't worry really he can't get you here," He ran his hand through his hair making her wonder how it would shine under the sunlight. "I promise, and if you go to sleep I'll teach you a thing or two about self defense tomorrow"

_Really?_ Her hands asked before she could stop herself.

"Again I don't understand sign language but if you're asking 'Really' then yes"

Naomi stood up, a smile lighting up her young features. With one last look at Lloyd, Lloyd Lloyd Lloyd she loved how it sounded in her mind, She went back into her room. This time when she laid down she wasn't scared. Her brother was here, and he'd protect her besides there was no way the ugly snake could've followed her all the way here. Also Lloyd would defend her if she was in was in trouble, she was somehow sure of that.

A smile spread across her lips again.

_Lloyd._

_...  
_

Pythor chuckled as he watched that pesky little Lloyd walked back into the ship. He'd promised the little girl that she'd be safe.

_Please_ He thought _I always get what I want._

And what he wanted now was the purple eyed child.

And that's exactly what he was going to get.


	4. He's not your brother

**(Well wow my chapters have gotten shorter and shorter sorry about that I'll try for more details next time)**

Chapter 4- He's not your brother

_Dragon, Chalice, Chest._

_The key lies in it's belly._

_The Chalice in the chest._

_The chest covered by lighting._

_Dragon, Chalice, Chest._

Naomi jumped out of her sleep, the mysterious words still echoing through her brain. What kind of dream had _that_ been? She rubbed her head, Maybe she'd hit it when she jumped out the window and was now thinking crazy stuff. She didn't feel a headache but. . . Naomi froze; there was someone in the room with her. She definitely couldn't see anything but her ears detected the soft sound of another living creature filling its lungs. She stood up slowly feeling something build up in her throat. A scream, she realized. The scream pushed at her lips but couldn't get out, because the necessary vocal cords where missing. If she was in danger, no one would know. She stepped away from the safety of her blanket with her heart beating hard against her chest threatening to crack her ribs. Taking one deep breath she ran for the door but something stopped her, an invisible force was wrapping around her pressing her small arms against her sides. She wiggled helplessly against the force that felt so much like a. . . Like a. . .

_Tail._

Slowly a dark shade of purple materialized around her, revealing first the smooth tail then slowly moving up to the purple and black body of an all too familiar snake. Her eyes widened and she trashed around trying, if not getting free, to unbalance the snake and make it crash against something to make a big loud noise. But the snake was obviously stronger and it just smiled at her despair.

"Go on child" He chuckled. "Ask for help why don't you?"

Tears filled Naomi's eyes as she struggled. Pythor just smiled and slid out of the room, Naomi prayed that one of the floorboards would scream for her but everything was absolute silent except for their breathing. Before she could think of a way to make noise they were out on deck and her hopes were dying. She was going to die and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

_Help help anyone please! _She demanded over and over in her mind but no one could hear.

"Stop Pythor," Her brother's voice said from behind her and relief flooded through her. . . Before allowing adrenaline to replace it once more when her brother's voice continued. "If we head to the mountains the ninja will find us in no time we need to hide in plain sight,"

Pythor turned and Naomi froze. For the guy standing before them was her brother. . . Yet at the same time he wasn't. Her brother's eyes had always been a dark brown color but now they were an unnatural shade of crimson.

"Jamanekai village?"Pythor suggested

"Jamanekai village" Her non-brother agreed

Naomi struggled once again trying to reach out to her brother, Hoping he'd snap out of it and save her. But he didn't he only laughed at how helpless she was.

"Yes, The Devourer's venom sure does wonders" Pythor chuckled. "Specially in an overdose"

The devourer? She'd heard something about it, Her dad had mentioned it a couple of times and also something about a 'Bang' blade. But the newspapers had said that it had been destroyed, Blown into bits by Garmadon's power over the golden weapons.

"Let's go before the others wake up," Cole said helping Pythor carry Naomi off the ship. "Then we'll see what's so special about my sister."


	5. Missing

**(So a friend pointed out it's "Jamanakai" not "Jamanekai" so sorry about that, Either way viiictoryyy lap for me I finally got over 900 words on this chapter yay c: BTW sorry about not uploading on the weekend but videogame duty called)**

Chapter 5- Missing

Lloyd woke up with the sunlight sneaking through his eyelids. He sat up, grateful that sensei had let them sleep one full night without making them rise up early. He stretched his still sleeping muscles and noticed that Cole's bed was empty; Of course he was probably training already gaining more and more muscles he could brag about. Or maybe he was with Naomi, Showing her around the ship or eating something.

Naomi.

Naomi, what exactly did Lloyd think about her? He didn't really know, he just knew it was definitely un-safe to mention anything to the guys. They'd never let it go, Plus he didn't know how Cole might react, for all Lloyd knew he could be more overprotective than Kai was over Nya. It was too complicated to think about on an empty stomach so he stood and walked out the room. He didn't bother on being quiet, if the sun hadn't woken up the others he didn't think anything would, for a couple of hours at least. He passed by Naomi's room which was empty proving that she and Cole were together. Lloyd walked out on deck where sensei had already finished his sunrise exercises and was drinking out of his blue cup which was undoubtedly filled with tea.

"Morning Sensei," Lloyd said casually when he reached him. "Any idea where Cole is? And um Naomi?"

Sensei took a sip of tea. "I'm afraid not, they were gone when I woke up"

"Oh," Lloyd said trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. Why was he disappointed anyway? Had he really thought Naomi would be waiting for him to wake up? Waiting for that combat training he'd promised? Well whatever, she probably wouldn't be able to handle his awesomeness either way. Still he couldn't help asking. "Where do you think they went?"

"If I had to take a guess Cole probably took her back to their village,"

"Right,"

Lloyd retreated into the kitchen, Where Zane's cake sat on the table. It was untouched though, not even a crumb was missing. Was Cole sick or something? Maybe he just didn't want Naomi to see it because then he would have to share. But wait. . . Why would he leave it out in the open where everyone else could take a bite?

_Really Lloyd you're thinking too much _He thought to himself

Later on, the others woke up and they agreed with sensei on the fact that Cole probably took Naomi to their home town. Something bothered Lloyd though, As it grew later and later and the ship's shadows moved about slowly ending up in the opposite direction in which they started he grew more and more impatient. Everyone else just shrugged it off, pointing out that the village wasn't exactly around the corner and their spinjitzu vehicles were long gone. After a couple of laps around the ship, Jay began to point out the fact that Lloyd liked Naomi, or even worse Cole!, and the others joined in to make fun of their fellow ninja Including Zane, whose monotone comments caused Kai and Jay to laugh harder and harder.

_Funny _Lloyd though _Jay's more lovesick than a puppy but nobody says anything_

He wasn't pacing around because he liked her or was hoping she'd be in her room when he walked by, it really wasn't. I mean maybe he liked the way her purple eyes sparkled when she smiled and maybe he found the fact that her hair was a slightly wild a bit attractive maybe. . . The point was, apart from the fact that he _wasn't _crushing on her. . . Really he wasn't! Was that he just had a very bad feeling that something was amiss. First of all Cole had say her father had somewhat kicked Naomi out of their house, so why would he take her back there? Second, he would have woken _somebody_ up or left a note or _something._ The third and most shocking fact of all was that he'd left Zane's cake untouched and everyone knew Cole had never been able to stop himself from munching down any of Zane's cakes, much less the Chocolate fudge special.

Mentioning any of this to do guys would only cause more teasing and they'd only say he was probably overreacting. Which he probably was, but he didn't care he had to follow his instincts. He hadn't become the green ninja for nothing. The problem he didn't have any idea as to where Cole was headed to begin. The only plan he could think of was heading to Jamanakai village, where he'd ask around and see if Cole had passed through there or not.

Lloyd stayed out on deck waiting for everyone to check in for the night. Last time he'd gone out in his own private mission without telling everyone, He had ended up being captured by Pythor and his slithery friends in the middle of Ouroboros. But it was different this time, there wasn't going to be thousands of snakes surrounding him and he wasn't going to be a helpless little kid. He'd learned a lot since then, and he wasn't gonna be in any danger.

He was Lloyd Garmadon, the ultimate spinjitzu master so if there _was_ trouble he'd have no problem kicking some ass.

Yet deep inside him, in the place where he was still a child craving for candy and action-packed fritz donnegan comics, He still felt a small flame of fear towards Pythor. But Lloyd's pride and recklessness kept the fear from reaching his conscious mind.

If only the fear had been free. . .

If only Lloyd's veins had been filled with adrenaline. . .

If only he'd planned a little more carefully. . .

_If only. . ._


	6. The prophecy

**(So the amount of words went down _again._ But well it's a lot of info to take in for one chapter so I don't wanna implode anyone's brain and mines coming really close to doing that right now. . . Oh and if there's a typo please point it out I'm half asleep while I re-read this)**

Chapter 6- The prophecy

"The image has flowed, A child is born, With bright purple eyes And the memories that died, Beware old enemies For vengeance they seek and for the chaotic plan the child's the key" Cole read out of the centuries old parchment, squinting from time to time in the places where time had tried its hardest to erase the words. When his voiced shaped the last word he looked up at Pythor who seemed deep in though. "It's incomplete though"

"I know that!" Pythor snapped. "I had to make a quick retreat, the woman wass a light ssleeper,"

"Don't we need the end?"Cole flipped his hair away from his bright red eyes. "It makes no sense right now"

Pythor shook his head taking the delicate paper off Cole's hands. "I undersstand enough '. . . With bright purple eyes and the memories that died' obioussly meanss the child knowss where the chalice is,"

"Chalice? I don't understand"

Naomi listened intently, hanging onto every word knowing that the ninja would want to know everything once they rescued her.

_What makes you think they will?_

She ignored the pessimistic thought and focused on the conversation. Her ears captured everything and her eyes explored the house she was in, though it all seemed like unimportant details she knew it might somehow matter later on.

And she needed something to keep her calm.

"Of courssse I haven't told you anything have I?" Pythor chuckled to himself. "And I'm ssure you've never heard the sstory of how Wu'ss father created the golden weaponsss have you? Oh ssure, Everyone hass heard the sstory about Ninjago'ss birth but not many explored the legendss further back in time"

Golden weapons, Naomi had read something about them somewhere. Looking through her memories she remembered reading an article on the newspaper about how these 'Golden Weapons' had destroyed The great devourer. Her dad wrote about how much trouble Cole and the other ninja had trouble with even putting a scratch on the monster, so she supposed those weapons must've been very powerful if they could accomplish something his brother couldn't.

"Go on," Cole muttered looking intently at Pythor.

The snake cleared his throat. " The weaponss were created by Montgomery, The first sspinjitzu master, after he drunk the ssacred water from the golden peakss. Normally any contact with thiss golden lake, would fill someone with sso much energy that the victim would only last a few minutes of ultimate power, before their vital organss backfired on them."

"But Montgomery found a way, While no ordinary element could hold thiss water. A very sspecial texture sseemed immune to it. What was it? Dragon'ss sscales! He lossst no time and forged a chalice, Molding the thick sscaless with fire from the underworld to sstrengthen the material even more."

"Well, my dear friend, I will find thiss chalice and drink from the golden peakss gaining abssolute power over consssstruction and deconssstruction And then my kind will finally be avenged, we will risse up from the ground and the DNA of every one of thosse who ressisst me will be vanissshed forever!"

"And that's why you need my sister," Cole turned towards Naomi whose wide eyes pleaded for help. He smirked. "What's in it for me though?"

"Well I will need a general for my armiesss of courssse," Pythor tilted his head a little. "Your leadersshipss sskills are impeccable, There'ss no other man for the job."

Cole was a bit flattered, but the evil inside him had made his brain a little smarter allowing him to think things through in a matter of seconds and capable of whipping up a plan in the blink of an eye. He loved Pythor's plan. Ultimate power? What could be more tempting than that? But he wasn't going to step down and take any orders. Specially not from a snake. Pythor's kind had live beneath humanity for centuries and Cole was going to make sure it stayed that way.

"Seems fair," Cole's voice and expression showed nothing of the thoughts running through his brain.


	7. Near death

Chapter 7- Near death

Lloyd was frustrated; no one had seen Pythor or Cole. A couple of people had nodded when he mentioned a petite girl with jet black hair but once he added the purple eyes to the description they shook their heads once again. So maybe everything _was_ ok and he'd just overreacted, Sensei's guess must be correct and Cole had just taken her back to their village where she'd be safe. Ready to give up he started heading back towards the bounty, but before exiting the village Pythor's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"If sshe doessn't ssstart cooperating. . ." There was anger in his voice, and Lloyd had no doubt on who the 'she' was. He didn't waste any time on making a plan, He worked better when improvising. Besides Pythor seemed to be working his last nerve and he couldn't bear the thought of Naomi being hurt.

Lloyd kicked the door open, causing all eyes to turn to him. "Naomi!"

She was pressed back against the wall trying to push it back with all her strength so that she might move further away from the evil snake. Lloyd expected relief to flood through her eyes the moment he stepped in but her expression didn't change, Terror was fixed into her pupils. Lloyd's emerald eyes followed her eyes, which hadn't been planted on him like he'd expected, but on her brother while he slowly sharpened his scythe against the wall looking menacing, Deadly.

"Cole?" Lloyd understood Naomi's fear. The red light shining off his eyes reminded Lloyd of his fathers, before the evil had been drained. Cole was not on his side, and he would be a formidable adversary.

Especially because Lloyd didn't want to hurt him.

Pythor slipped two daggers out of their sheaths which were so sharp they could almost slice the tension in the room. He stood over Naomi, Blocking her from Lloyd. The young ninja stepped closer planning to simply lure Pythor away from Naomi so he could unleash all his raw energy into the purple-scaled snake who should've been fried up years ago. Pythor didn't move away, knowing he was safe as long as he stood anywhere near the weak purple-eyed child.

"Didn't I teach you never to leave your back wide open for an attack?" Cole swung his scythe at Lloyd, slicing a deep wound across his back. "Even more so if your opponent has a razor sharp mind to accompany their weapon."

Lloyd flipped back to a safe position that unluckily threw his defense down for a couple of seconds. The reason of which was the pain shooting out from the skin around his wound, it had violently stretched open flushing out vital amounts of blood. His vision became blurry as he staggered forward. His only goal became to inflict any type of wound on Pythor forcing him and Cole to retreat without Naomi. He wouldn't get far without a weapon though so he focused on the snake since he couldn't imagine Cole's grip to loosen for even a second.

Lloyd's eyes centered on Pythor while being careful not to let Cole escape from his sense's radar. He didn't need to get sliced at twice. "Be ready Naomi"

Naomi was already tense and pumped with adrenaline. She'd been ready for anything the moment Lloyd kicked down the door, anything except for him being harmed that is. She knew it was all her fault and he would have been fine if only she'd known how to take care of herself. Her small body was pressed against the wall making her as useless as any other inanimate object in the room. When she saw Pythor's tail shoot towards Lloyd's body her mouth snapped open, but the warning stay clogged in her throat. She knew by his dizzy looking green eyes that Lloyd couldn't see the danger heading towards him. Naomi winced when Lloyd's body slammed against the wall, his head hitting a portrait of the family who lived here. Before she had any time to wonder what had happened to the residents of the house she noticed the blood trickling down Lloyd's soft blonde hair. This wasn't happening, was he loosing? This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening.

The same thought was running through Lloyd's half conscious mind. He'd beaten the overlord, conquered so many challenges just to be stopped now? He couldn't let Naomi down and of course he couldn't let Pythor get the best of him again. Focusing the last bit of strength he had he shot an energy bolt at Cole, Not enough to physically harm him but just the right amount for the evil ninja to be shocked and slowed down for a few minutes. He then ran towards Pythor, feeling his wounds soak the ninja suit with blood every time he moved. Through his blurry vision he caught flashes of Naomi's frightened face and the pain was pushed away from his thoughts. He would keep Naomi safe no matter what.

Pythor lashed out at Lloyd with his small daggers a move that the green ninja had anticipated so he managed dodge the attack safely. The ninja's only mistake was underestimating Pythor, not expecting his flawless technique and speed, and before Lloyd's vision had cleared again the razor sharp daggers slashed at his stomach slicing a deep deadly wound causing his strength to give out and his body to fall helplessly in front of Pythor who chuckled with an evil tone. The snake raised both daggers above Lloyd's limp body heading for the final blow. Naomi couldn't sit still; she knew there was not enough strength in her small muscles to harm Pythor much less win a battle against him. But she did know one thing; Pythor needed her for something and he'd most likely not harm her, at least not with a mortal wound.

Before Pythor could send the daggers flying down Naomi jumped in front of Lloyd covering his weak shivering body. She felt a slight squeeze on her left hand and turned slightly to see Lloyd's finger entwined with hers.

"Get out of the way little one," Pythor's tongue slid in and out of his mouth impatiently. "Thiss issn't your fight"

Naomi stood her ground even after her brother walked up beside Pythor. His body seemed to be twitching with the desire to harm her but he reluctantly held back. Naomi didn't think he'd be able to control himself for long. Fear ran through her, causing her to shiver slightly. The evil swimming through Cole's eyes seemed incontrollable and she felt a little foolish for thinking she wouldn't be harmed, there was no way to tell how much control Pythor had over her brother. Well if he hurt her, she wouldn't care as long she kept Lloyd safe for a few more minutes until a villager approached the house, if they were lucky. Besides he hadn't hesitated to put his life on the line to save her so wasn't it only fair that she reacted the same way?

"Hello?"There was a knock on the door. "Mary you alright in there?"

Mary must've been one of the people in the portrait Lloyd's head had slammed against, It didn't really matter though once whoever was at the door managed to get it open they'd yell for help.

The doorknob rattled impatiently after a few minutes of absolute silence.

Pythor turned to Cole. "Get out without being ssseen you know where we'll meet"

With those words Pythor vanished, his skin camouflaging into the background. Cole turned towards Naomi and smirked. ''I'll be back for you . . . _sis_"

And with that he was gone as well.

Purple eyes turned to meet half open green eyes. She could tell he was in a lot of pain, but he was strong and wouldn't ever give up on living. Her small hand gently stroked his pale cheek and Naomi wished she could somehow let him know everything was okay now but they had no way to communicate. Reluctantly she looked away from him and ran to the door unlocking it to let whoever was out there in. A stranger stood there talking to the 3 ninja who had most likely been called due to the fighting noises emanating from the house. The blue ninja was the first to notice her, once he'd gotten the others to turn away from the panicked villager and to Naomi they all crowded around her shooting questions every which way clearly forgetting that no one would understand her.

_I don't have time for this; Lloyd doesn't have time for this!_ Naomi pulled the white ninja into the house where Lloyd lay. The ninja had obviously dealt with this stuff before, since they shot into action right away. The ninja she'd pulled inside quickly headed towards Lloyd checking his wounds and tightening ripped pieces from his own white suit around them. The blue ninja, clearly the fastest, ran out perhaps to get their sensei or maybe to find a way to move Lloyd to the bounty. The red ninja just paced around, yelling and cursing insulting anything that came to his mind.

While the white ninja worked on stopping Lloyd's bleeding Naomi sat beside his small wounded body. She wished to hold his hand again but was afraid to get in the way, so she simply locked her eyes with his.

Lloyd didn't pass out throughout the time it took for Zane to finish, Naomi's eyes holding onto his consciousness for dear life. It wasn't until he was taken to the bounty and their connection was broken that he allowed darkness to hide the world around him.


	8. Not Jealous!

**(I don't feel like this chapter is very good, and if it sucks im really sorry about that I'll try to update and fix it)**

Chapter 8- Not jealous!

Inside Lloyd's mind, there was no clue as to how much time had passed since his brain had shut down. His eyes only captured a pack of blurred colors before everything came into focus revealing his mom's caring features.

"Good you're awake," She gently pressed her hand against his forehead; her skin was very cold against his. "The fever is still there though."

"I'm fine," He slowly sat up, his muscles protesting with every movement. Lloyd knew his mother was watching carefully so he kept himself from showing any sign of pain. Despite his efforts Misako's mother senses picked up on what Lloyd was really feeling.

"You should really stay lying down, your muscles haven't been used in over a week and your wounds aren't anywhere close to healing."

There was a strong clenching feeling around Lloyd's stomach and it had nothing to do with the un-healed wounds. Over a week? Had he really been unconscious for that long? Had Pythor accomplished his goal? Was his mother just waiting for the best moment to drop the tragedies onto his already heavy stomach? He couldn't bear the ignorance that surrounded him, For better or worse he had to know exactly what had happened during the time he had been shut deep within himself.

So many questions and only one mouth to ask them with! He decided Naomi was a priority since Pythor seemed to have a special interest on her. Plus she'd somewhat saved his life, Plus . . . Nothing." Is Naomi alright?"

His mom smiled in a way that made Lloyd feel as if he was an open book, and she was carefully reading everyone of thoughts then putting the hidden clues together so that they all pointed to. . .

_Pointed to nothing, I've got nothing to hide _Lloyd thought

"Yes she's fine," Misako finally answered. " Zane figured out how to read sign language pretty quickly and she was able to tell us everything that happened. Other than that things have been rather calm apart from me trying to figure out what prophecy Pythor is trying to decipher,"

Zane could read sign language now? Well he was a robot, of course he'd be a fast learner. Without Cole communication with Naomi had seemed impossible but now she could communicate with Zane and make it easier for the ninja to help her out. But honestly why Zane? I mean Lloyd was a fast learner too he had learned spinjitzu a couple of weeks after his training had started and he'd only been 9 years old. Zane probably did a sloppy job of reading Naomi's hands and she probably had slow down for-

_Whoosh!_

An arrow shot straight through the window piercing the wall above Lloyd's head. His muscled tensed up but before he was able to jump up on a fighting stance his mother kept him down by gently pushing on his shoulders.

"It's just Naomi, Zane has been trying to teach her how to use the bow and arrow," her mother explained.

Purple eyes appeared in the window right on cue. Her eyes grew wider as she saw the place her arrow had landed. She quickly stepped in, bowing her head a little to let them know she was sorry. Lloyd pulled the arrow out of the wall trying to ignore the pain signals his shoulder shot out towards his brain. "Here you go,"

Naomi approached the arrow slowly her fingers nervous as they approached Lloyd's. She take the arrow back making as little contact with the boy's warm skin as possible then she quickly ran out back to Zane.

"Humph, Zane doesn't seem like a very good teacher"

"Or maybe Naomi wanted her arrow in here," She nodded slightly towards the wall were multiple holes stood around the most recent one. "Wouldn't be the first time"

Lloyd shrugged and looked back out the window. He was convinced that if his mom wasn't keeping him inside, he'd be able to go out there and teach Naomi himself. He would be so much better than Zane because even though the nindroid was the greatest chef and one of the smartest in the group Lloyd was the one and only green ninja meaning he was the best of the team. Naomi could be a little confused now but the longer she stayed the easier she'll be able to figure out that-

Lloyd

Was

The

Best.


	9. A new ally

Chapter 9- A new ally

Pythor was rather displeased, the child was back with the ninja and the little brat had scarred his smooth skin. It was all just a temporary inconvenience though because it would all be good in the end, for him that is, but he was clearly in need of more assistance. Cole was a great ally but he was only one and there was also the fact that Cole had more power over Pythor than the snake felt comfortable with. Realistically the ninja of earth could beat Pythor any day because the serpentine had nothing to threaten him with. This meant that either of them could be the one to drink from the sacred lake of the golden peaks. If Scales had been with him Cole could be hypnotized and Pythor would destroy any danger there was of him being overthrown at the last second. Hypnotizing had its drawbacks though because it wouldn't allow the ninja to think for himself and his ideas could come in handy especially since the devourer's venom had definitely made him smarter. That left only one choice for Pythor to be at the top of the food chain, and that was getting new loyal allies.

But who? Even if he knew where the other serpentine had run off to he'd get no help from them, not after the disaster the devourer had turned out to be. No he would get no respect from his kin until he was all powerful and then they would forgive his mistake. The skeleton army was out as well since they had helped out the ninja once before and Pythor would never be crazy enough to ask for help from and old foe.

"You've been quiet," Suspision echoed in Cole's words.

"Indeed," Pythor focused on Cole. "I was wondering if it would be wise to get so more allies, to make it easier for us to beat the ninja."

"Maybe you're right," Cole tilted his head slightly, The snake had his full attention. "But who?"

"That's what I was asking myself, But the ninja are strong we can't underestimate them," Pythor looked around trying to think. "The only thing that got them the close to being defeated was that indestructible army."

"The helmet is most likely to be well guarded and they probably moved it since they probably now I'm on your side by now," Cole had to hold back a chuckle when he said 'your side'.

Pythor nodded. There had to be another solution.

"There is another thing . . .," Cole frowned. "About a year ago we encountered this…. Thing from the underworld that the skeleton army was supposed to keep away from Ninjago because of its great evil. It could shape shift into anything and anyone acquiring their strengths and powers."

"Sounds perfect, but if they have defeated them before what makes you think they won't do it again?"

Cole thought back to their battle. The creatures have mentioned they needed something to be able to permanently stay outside of their underworld prisons. "Sensei mentioned that they couldn't bear the sight of their reflection and that's how we forced them back. But their leader also mentioned needing 4 things to be able to permanently stay."

"And those things were?"

"Let me see. . . First was dust from a river, snow from the desert, a scale from an angry dragon and finally a scroll from the safest place in ninjago,"

"Dust from a river? Snow from the desert? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know about snow from the desert Zane was the one in charge of that but 'Dust from a river' I remember I found and old man panning for gold as I thought about it," Cole frowned once again bringing his dark eyebrows together. " I think it stood for gold dust."

"Wait so you actually collected all this stuff? Why would bring a tragedy onto yourselves?"

"Thing is we didn't know what the purpose of collecting all this stuff was, The creature disguised itself as sensei and we were absolutely clueless,"

"Well well well I'm starting to like these creatures more and more," Pythor stood up. "Seems like our next move is decided."

**(I don't know how well I described this 'new ally' but there'll definetly be more details once I write another bad guy POV chapter but in case you're confused this is an actual ninjago enemy though it was never really realeased on the show it's from the comic "The mask of the sensei" which I definetly recommend)**


	10. Naomi's shot

Chapter 10- Naomi's shot

"I swear mom I'm fine," Lloyd finally managed to move his mom enough so that he could stand. He looked down at his suit and tried to fix the hopelessly wrinkled mess.

"Fine," Misako gave it up, her son was far too stubborn him being a Garmadon and all. "But you still don't have to come with us, Are you sure you don't want to stay with your father?"

"_Yes,_" Lloyd muttered for the billionth time, the annoyance in his voice making him sound slightly rude. His mom had required Naomi to accompany them so Lloyd was obliged to be there as well so that he could protect her from whatever dangers the forest could hold.

_You're sooo lovesick _A mocking voice echoed through his mind.

_Yeah yeah whatever _He'd finally admitted to himself what he was feeling. It hadn't gone away like he'd planned so he would just have to stop running and deal with his… emotional problem. Either way ignoring it took far more energy from him than it was worth.

"Alright then," sighed Misako knowing she was fighting a lost battle. "We had better hurry the others are waiting,"

They stepped out onto the unforgiving sunrays. Lately the days had been so hot the ninja were definitely looking up to the change of scenery the trip would bring. As if being controlled by an invisible magnet Lloyd's eyes located Naomi almost instantly. Her hair was pulled up into two buns, kept in place by light purple ribbons that matched her eyes. Since her hair wasn't exactly 'tamed' strands of it had escaped the ribbon's grasp and were hanging loose at the sides of her slightly sunburned cheeks.

_Ok so how do you make a girl like you?_

To be honest he'd prefer to battle against thousands of overlords than to deal with stuff like this, but it wasn't exactly up to him. He knew acting like a fool around Naomi wouldn't get him anywhere though his body seemed to have different ideas. She's looking at him? Let's turn his cheeks bright red for good measure. Oh wait he's trying to talk? No that won't do at all! Stuttering is always best, Or maybe-

_SLAM!_

Lloyd smacked hard against the mast. His mind had purposely distracted him while blurring out his surroundings, thus slamming against the ship's main mast had been inevitable. He rubbed his face and tried to play it cool, but the guys had seen it all and had already started laughing.

"Oh son I really do think you should stay." In Misako's eyes his sudden clumsiness was due to the blow on the head he'd received.

"Instead of worrying about me shouldn't we get going?" Lloyd muttered rudely moving quickly towards the earth driller **(I don't think it has a name but Cole drives it in 'The island of darkness')**. He could feel Naomi's eyes on him and for god's sake his legs just wouldn't move anywhere near the speed he'd like.

Zane sat beside the green ninja allowing him to finally relax a little. Had it been any of the other guys beside him it would have been a _long_ trip. Nya jumped in after double checking the gas tank making sure it was full. The trip was bound to be a long one, Misako hadn't given exact instructions as if she herself had no idea as to where they were heading, and there was no room for any delays.

Destiny had other plans, however, the way he always seems to do whenever something is needed to go well. Deep within the forest Misako tried to match up their surroundings to the vaguely sketched map on her hands. Her sister had still been young when she'd drawn it and the childish symbols were almost impossible to decipher. Lloyd's mother grew more and more nervous the deeper Nya drove into the forest. She knew the dangers this forest held under its mask of beauty all too well, and one second too many outside of her sister's protective circle could prove itself to be lethal.

"It's kind of nice here," Jay smiled following a butterfly with his eyes then winced when it slammed against the windshield. "Ok maybe not for bugs."

"Don't let it fool you," Misako warned, making sure to keep everybody alert. "There are probably predators watching us this very moment."

Jay and Naomi shivered.

"As if they stood a chance against my fire," Kai proudly patted his fire sword his ego so thick around him that it was almost physical.

"Fire would not be a very wise weapon in a forest," Sensei Wu pointed out without looking away from the scroll he was studying.

"Sensei is right Kai. The possibilities of burning more than 75% of the forest are very high," Zane agreed running every possible scenario through his mind in a matter of seconds. Kai mumbled to himself, deeply annoyed at not being able to be the hero if any disaster decided to sneak up on them.

As if on cue Nya groaned. "Oh no the engine is overheating, we're going to have to stop for a few seconds."

Misako frowned, "Is it really necessary?"

Nya nodded. "If we keep going the engine might give out completely,"

"I would definitely love to stretch out a little," Lloyd was eager to get out and try talking to Naomi. He wasn't a super smart robot that could learn sign language in a matter of seconds but he could read Naomi's expressions pretty good. Besides Jay had conquered Nya by spending time with her and that, being too shy to ask his mother for advice, was Lloyd's only guideline.

Misako agreed that her muscles where getting tired of sitting and the engine giving out on them was far worst than them resting for a while."Let's stop but everyone should stay close together."

Nya stopped the earth driller and opened it up allowing the sweet smell of the forest to finally sneak in and be breathing in. Everyone stepped out and walked around a bit. Naomi stretched a bit in her seat but otherwise stayed put. Clearly she still wasn't very comfortable around the others. Lloyd analyzed the situation. Should he sit right beside Naomi or on the seat in front of her? He definitely wanted to be close but the closer he was the higher the possibilities of his cheeks bursting into a bright red color that would put Kai's ninja suit to shame. After weighting out his options he decided that being in front was the safest way to go. He got ready to climb up onto the vehicle but a tremor through the earth sent him back onto the ground.

An earthquake? Or maybe. . . Cole? Lloyd sat up at looked around him where all the other ninja where all alert and ready. He risked one quick glance at Naomi and saw she was clinging tightly onto the bow and arrows Zane had made for her. The purple eyes where desperately praying that the threat approaching wasn't her brother.

Luckily for them Cole and Pythor were far away focused on their own problems. All the same the danger coming to them was no laughing matter. The thick trunks of the trees in front of them were thrown aside effortlessly by a giant, who stood well over 50 feet above them.

"Uh Lloyd?" Jay got his sword ready, "Do you have any more of those bottomless pits?"

Lloyd pulled his ninja hood to cover his face. "No but I do have THIS!"

He shot raw energy at the giants chest forcing it back a couple of steps but apart from burning its skin a little it really did nothing but anger it even more. The giant picked up a tree and threw it hard at Lloyd's direction. The ninja was able to cover himself with a force field and escaped the attack physically intact but his energy drained. His mother had been right; He hadn't completely recovered from his encounter with Pythor.

"Do not worry friends," Zane froze the giant's feet to the ground though the giant was only held back for a second and before anyone could congratulate Zane, the giant sent him soaring through the air with a strong blow. Jay ran to see if he was alright and Kai pulled out his sword which sensei quickly kicked from his hands.

"Don't make this worst Kai you know you can't use fire here,"

While the battle raged around her, Naomi was having her own internal war. For the third time on this couple of weeks she was watching other people get hurt while she stood back hiding in the shadows like the coward she was. She had a perfectly good weapon in her hands and Zane had been an excellent teacher. Then why wasn't she helping? Lloyd was using all of his energy to defeat the giant even though he still looked weak. Zane had already shaken off the blow and was already back into the fight freezing the giant's arm giving Lloyd extra time to evade the attacks. Jay was electrocuting it without rest hoping to make their enemy pass out. Even Kai, Sensei and Misako had found their own way to help by using spinjitzu on the trees around the giant causing them to fall and hit the monster on the way down.

So what about Naomi? Why wasn't she risking her life to protect the others too? No wonder everyone talked to her like she was still a small kid in need of protection. She hadn't proven herself of being something else. She'd allowed her grandparents to be eaten and Lloyd to be beaten up near death so what would her cowardice cause this time?

She didn't want to find out.

Naomi placed and arrow on her bow and pulled it back relaxing her muscles and trying to remember everything Zane had shown her. Where to shoot though? If she aimed at the creature's chest it would feel no more than a tickle and if she aimed at its head the arrow would not be strong enough to penetrate the thick skull. Except. . . If she was able to get its eye the arrow would travel directly to the giant's brain causing almost instant death. . .

Purple eyes centered on their mark. This was the time to show the others she wasn't as helpless as the others thought, that she wasn't fragile.

It was time to prove she was worth the legendary green ninja's attention.

Naomi released the arrow.


	11. A quick trip to the underworld

Chapter 11- A quick trip to the underworld

Pythor watched while Cole uncovered the secret entrance to the underworld beneath the fire temple. The ninja worked fast and steady but it wasn't at the speed of Pythor's preference. This little mission of his had taken a turn for the worst. His original plan had been to kidnap the child get the information out of her and find the chalice, all the while hidden in the shadows. No fighting would have been necessary and he would be ruling the world by now not stuck in trying to recruit an army.

And it was all due to an idiotic 14 year old.

The anacondrai filled with rage just thinking about the girl. How could she be such a mature problem for him? He didn't know when he would finally accomplish his goal but when he did that child would be the first to pay.

"It's open," Cole wiped off some sweat off his forehead and frowned. Sweating already? He was definitely out of shape if Pythor didn't make him fight soon he might just have to take the matter into his own hands sooner than what he had originally planned.

"Excellent," Both the snake and the ninja went into the underworld. Neither one trusted the other enough to leave their back open so they both walked beside each other. "So where exactly are these creatures?"

"I don't exactly know but I suppose it would be well guarded they wouldn't want any of them getting out."

"Or uss getting in." Pythor looked everywhere while he slithered deeper and deeper into the underworld. They only met the occasional skeleton but it was easy to hide in such a dark place. There were many caves, each exactly like the last all but one. This last cavern was being guarded by two skeletons equipped with thick golden swords and strong heavy-looking shields.

"If I had to take I guess I'd say we should head there," Cole stopped behind a strangely formed rock and turned to who had started to color his skin so that he would easily blend into his environment.

"Sssee you on the other side,"

Cole looked around trying to decide which side of the cave's entrance would hide him better. When he took his pick, the ninja sneaked into the cave noiselessly and in record time. Once they were both deep within the cave Cole one of the torches hanging on the wall and used it to illuminate the world around him.

"You shouldn't have come here strangers," a voice traveled through the room

"We know what we're doing and we have a deal for you" Pythor responded scanning the room for any threats.

"A deal huh? And what is this 'Deal'?" The voice sounded closer now somewhere behind them. Cole quickly turned having his scythe at the ready.

"We have what you need to stay in the surface forever," Pythor patted at the bag hanging by his side.

"Even the scroll from the safest place in Ninjago?"

Pythor nodded, he was sure no place was safer than where he'd stolen the prophecy from. "Everything,"

"You're more foolish than I thought then," Hundreds of small patches of smoke flew in to reveal themselves at Cole's light. "My army can easily defeat you and we can just simply take these items from you"

The patch smoke that seemed to be the leader shape shifted into four armed Garmadon while 4 of the other smaller ones turned into the golden weapons and placed themselves in his hands.

"Of course if you wish me to beat you in a fight then sso be it," Pythor smiled, he'd expected this. Just like the serpentine he would have to defeat the leaders to gain the others loyalty. But maybe allowing the leader to live wasn't such a very good idea, if he made the others fear him his leadership would last longer or so had he read on Machiavelli's book.

"So you still think you can defeat me?" Garmadon chuckled and shot a lightning bolt at Pythor.

Cole swung his scythe and deflected the bolt just as Pythor slithered forward a small mirror in his hands. He aimed it at Garmadon and the creature turned back to smoke.

"A little birdie told me your weaknesss" Pythor kept the mirror aimed and the other smaller smokes floated away not even trying to save their leader.

"Stop! Stop! We will do what you say!" The leader was so small now that his voice had turned into a squeak.

"I think not," The snake held the mirror above the smoke creature until it poofed out of existence. Then he looked up. "Now I am your leader and if you disobey me your old leader's fate will be yours as well!"

The eyes of all the smoke creatures looked down; they were terrified of Pythor and would listen to every word he said.

**(So there you go they turn into anything and acquire the powers of whatever they turned to buuut they can't stand they sight of their reflection it's pretty much deadly to them)**


	12. Casey

Chapter 12- Casey

The arrow missed the giant by a couple of feet.

Little Naomi wasn't discouraged though, for the first time ever when the adrenaline shot through her it wasn't telling her to run and hide, instead it fueled her arms to keep shooting and harm the giant in _any_ possible way. Her enthusiasm was admirable but there weren't many arrows for her to use and soon she had the last within her shaking fingers.

_C'mon Naomi last chance_. Once again she pulled back the string and aimed except this time the arrow took pity on her and landed on the giant's shoulder. A smile spread across her face. So what if she hadn't saved the day? She'd finally done something!

The giant wasn't as pleased as the girl though. Turning away from the ninja it zoned in towards the new threat and roared angrily, covering the Kai and Jay in drool and blood the later which must have been from the monster's last victim. It pulled a thick tree from beside him and swung it at the vehicle where Naomi was frozen, shocked due to her small victory. The impact was devastating, and no one had a better view of it than Lloyd, who had been standing only a couple of feet away in case Naomi needed protecting.

Some bodyguard he had turned out to be.

The car flipped in the air twice then slammed against the ground, shooting out broken glass onto every direction. Anger and worry pulled at Lloyd's mind, the first urging him to attack the giant the second to try and get Naomi out of the wreck. Fear of what he might see if he approached the crumpled vehicle made the decision for him, the way true fear tends to do for all of us. Lloyd ran closer to the giant climbing on top of a nearby tree so he would get a better shot at the its head. Focusing his anger into a massive energy ball, he then shot it towards the giant forcing it to step back due to the impact, finally hurting him for a change.

Back inside the wreckage Naomi woke up, hanging upside down the seatbelt holding her tightly. She reached over to unbuckle herself an action that her shaken brain didn't really think through. Without the seatbelt supporting her body she fell onto the ground, a piece of broken glass lodged itself into her leg. She groaned her vision become blurry. Her bow was still in her hands, her grip tighter than what she would have expected. Knowing there was a possibility of the car bursting into flames any second she forced herself to start crawling out.

Right outside the broken car lay one of her arrows, possibly the first she had shot. Naomi looked around trying to see how the others were holding up. One of Zane's arms was missing and wires were sticking out from his shoulder, reminding Naomi that he was a robot and he'd be able to be fixed. So they didn't really need her. She turned a bit to try and catch sight of the others; Kai was laying on the ground unconscious while Sensei, Misako and Nya kept close to Jay, whose leg was twisted in a painful angle. They could still win without her; Lloyd's strength would probably be enough to defeat the giant.

Where _was_ Lloyd? Naomi looked up slightly then waited for her vision to stop combining the colors of her surroundings. Then she saw him, a small green dot trapped within the giant's hand. If it held Lloyd too tightly it could mortally wound him. The ninja were in no shape to help so if she didn't do anything, who would? She snatched the arrow off the ground ignoring the pain from her shoulder. Placing it on the bow Naomi pulled the string back further than she had with all the others.

Her desire to keep Lloyd safe made her stronger.

Before she released the arrow worry froze her muscles. The distance was far too big. . . And she could barely see a thing, what if she accidentally hit Lloyd instead? Naomi took a deep breath, if she didn't do anything now it might be too late the next second. Trusting her instincts she shut her eyes tightly and let the arrow go. The arrow flew through the air higher and higher above the giant's head. Finally, the arrow started to lose its speed the head back down.

Right through the giant's eye.

The minute the arrow hit its mark the hand that held Lloyd loosened its grip allowing him to jump safely back onto a branch. The giant, now dead, fell back hitting the earth with tremendous force causing a small earthquake. When Naomi felt it, she slowly reopened her eyes, and relief flooded through her. The girl's moment of victory lasted less than a second, because by this time there was more blood around her than inside of her small body and darkness invaded her vision.

. . .

"Misako I _did_ tell you to learn magic but no no no you were far too in love with that crazy guy," A young voice entered Naomi's ears as she slowly regained consciousness. "Now you look worst than a dried up prune"

"It's nice to see you too Casey," There was a small hint of sarcasm in Misako's voice.

"Of course it is!," Casey laughed a little. "It's always nice to see me isn't it? Tell me though what brings you here with a bunch of injured people? Wouldn't surprise me if that Garmadon had something to do with it. . ."

"It's nothing to do with him; we just had some problems in the forest."

"Didn't I make you a map with a safe route here? Though of course at your age it must be hard not to get lost."

Naomi opened her eyes, determined to know what was going on. Everything around her was in shadow but the light from the other room allowed her to see Nya and the ninja sleeping around her. Slowly she sat up still a bit dizzy from all the blood she'd lost. There were no bandages on her but there weren't any wounds either. The voice named Casey _had_ mentioned magic but could it really be possible that she'd been healed in less than a day?

"Hey you're supposed to be resting," Lloyd's soft voice made her jump a little, he was sitting up too on the bed right beside hers. "You lost a lot of blood back there, I mean really it was everywhere and I-"

Naomi held a finger up to her lips trying to quiet him so she could listen in to the conversation in the other room.

"Yeah I know I was listening too and- yes of course shutting up now,"

Naomi smiled a little and felt light tickles in her stomach.

When her ears finally picked up on the conversation it was sensei's voice she heard. "- Naomi, The girl with the purple eyes, Told us the first part of the prophecy and we thought you might know the rest."

"_Know_ the rest? Of course I know the rest, I know every single letter of every single prophecy ever written," There was a small pause. "I only write them down for the convenience of others, But since that stupid snake got ahold of a piece of _my_ scrolls I'll probably just burn down my whole library. . . Yes, Isn't fire wonderful? Nothing can resist its powers of destruction. . ."

Misako's voice popped in again. "Yes, yes but back to the prophecy . . . ?"

"Oh you're no fun," Casey cleared her throath. "Ok the prophecy of the purple child"

"_The image had flowed_

_A child is born_

_With bright purple eyes_

_And memories that died_

_Beware your old enemies_

_For Vengeance they seek_

_And for the chaotic plan_

_The child's the key_

_A sacred cave, Birthplace of all_

_Turns into a Tomb_

_Soaked with the tears_

_For the sacrifice_"

There was quiet after she finished and Naomi laid back down. She pressed down on her eyes, hating them with all her might. Why did they have to be purple? Why did it have to be about _her_ ? It was all so messed up and now she had the final stanza to haunt her as well. "_ A sacred cave Birthplace of all, Turns into a Tomb, Soaked with the tears, For the sacrifice._" She'd been the cause of too much pain already and now there was also a sacrifice?

Naomi thought about her brother and tears rolled down her cheeks. She started shaking a little and for once was glad about being a mute. She didn't want anyone to see how weak she was.

_Please Please Please _She though furiously _Don't let anything happen to my brother_

She heard Lloyd lay back down on his bed. "I know it looks pretty bad right now, but no matter what I promise everything will turn out alright"

Naomi's tears stopped after hearing Lloyd's promise. He couldn't possible know the future but somehow his promise made her feel better.

_Everything will turn out alright._

**(Well that was my longest chapter yet! And its specially for HungerGamesAngel whose birthday is tomorrow HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY)**


	13. Fireflies

Chapter 13- Fireflies

_In this farewell_

_There's no blood_

_There's no alibi_

'_Cause I've drawn regret_

_From the truth_

_Of a thousand lies_

Naomi woke up when the music reached her ears. She didn't sit up, her brain was stuck on whether to turn on and awaken the girl's curiosity to try and find out where the sound was coming from or to allow her to lay there and listen to the lyrics instead.

_So let mercy come_

_And wash away_

_What I've done_

As her brain analyzed the lyrics an image of the way she'd abandoned her grandparents appeared followed by an image of the pain she'd caused Lloyd when he'd come to rescue her from Pythor's grasp.

_I'll face myself_

_To cross out what I've become_

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what I've done_

Thoughts of her brother started to show up again and she quickly sat up. She was most definitely _not _going to cry again. Around the room everyone was still asleep so she quietly walked out of the room to follow the sound of the music. Before exiting she stopped in front of the mirror and took down the two buns, they had been falling apart anyway. Her thick her fell onto her shoulders looking more tangled than ever.

_Now I look like myself_ she smiled a bit, even though some sadness still clung to her eyes.

She walked out of the room and into what seemed to be a dining room even though in a couple of places there lay piles of ashes instead of chairs. She walked outside and for the first time saw that the house she'd been in was actually inside a tree, a very small one as a matter of fact. How had the inside managed to look so big? There could only be one answer, Magic.

Naomi looked out towards the forest and saw a tall woman with long bright red hair. She was staring deep into the forest though her eyes weren't exactly focused. The music got louder as Naomi stepped closer but there was still no evident source. Except. . . It sounded very silly in her head but the music seemed to be somehow be coming _from_ the woman. She wasn't singing, that much was obvious since the singer was male, but she was somehow still the source of the music.

_This is definitely magic, meaning she's definitely a witch, meaning she's definitely Casey _Naomi thought ignoring the possibility that she might be going crazy.

The music stopped. "Yes I'm a witch and my parents named me Casey but you know it is rather rude to think about other people without introducing yourself first"

_Did she just.. .?_

"Read your mind? Yes." She turned and Naomi was amazed at her beautifully bright crimson eyes. "It's child's play really"

Naomi was too stunned to really think anything that made sense.

"So purple eyes huh? You're Naomi then, Cole's sister and a mute plus you fancy Lloyd if I'm not mistaken," She made a small flame in her hand and started playing with it. "Sorry kinda rude of me to read your life without asking but hey you know how curiosity is"

The flame slipped from her hand landing on the dry grass which caught on fire quickly, infecting those beside it which in turn infected those beside _them_ and so on. Naomi stepped back and looked up at Casey who just stared at the fire with a crazy look on her face. The witch looked down and noticed Naomi's frightened face and she sighed, extinguishing the fire with a small wave of her hand.

"It's such a shame that not many people like fire,"

_Well it can kill you._ Naomi wasn't sure she liked Casey; there was something creepy about her.

"And it also gives you light and warmth," She smiled. "It all depends on how you use it. . . . But anyway! Are you really the only one up? Tsk Tsk! This isn't a hotel and I won't be having any oversleeping done in my house!"

Casey walked back inside the tree and Naomi followed. The rest of the day went by without anything of importance happening. Naomi was mostly stuck with Misako and Sensei as they tried to analyze the prophecy, in case they were missing anything important. In the small breaks she had it was impossible to get a hold of Lloyd because he was nowhere to be seen. At lunch time they all made a small picnic right outside the house, except for Lloyd and Zane who had been missing for a while though nobody said anything, and Casey decided it was the best time to burn all the prophecies. Everyone honestly admitted that the way she controlled fire was a pretty amazing thing to witness.

Everyone except Kai that is, he kept bragging that he could do it a thousand times better. As soon as the words came out of his mouth, a spark jumped out of the giant fire and singed most of his hair.

"Oh sorry dear let me fix that," Casey innocently put out the fire before it could do any more damage, though if Misako hadn't been shooting her THE look she probably would have allowed the fire ninja to become bald.

Jay laughed. "Well if you ask me it's an improvement,"

_I soo agree with Jay_ Naomi smiled

Lloyd and Zane reappeared in time for dinner. Casey turned out to be a great cook, or perhaps she'd whipped it up with her magic. Either way the table was covered with Pizza, Lasagna and every single dessert you couple ever imagine. From simple chocolate chip cookies to a cake that seemed to be made entirely of gummy bears.

Jay didn't even touch the food. He dove straight into the desserts shoving them into his mouth faster than he could possible chew. Nya sighed and shook her head but she was clearly trying not to smile.

"So Jay is it?" Casey looked at him just as a piece of red velvet cupcake escaped from his mouth. "Not that I don't like to see people enjoy my food but I think you're a bit overweight for a ninja already."

Jay swallowed and wiped frosting off his lips, his face was completely red. "Right. . ."

After that everybody, was careful not to eat too much or make a fool of themselves, all terrified of being put under Casey's bright spotlight. When dinner ended everyone headed to their rooms. Just like before Naomi, Nya and the ninja shared a room. Naomi wasn't very tired, and even if she had been her mind would have probably not allowed her to sleep. The prophecy was still running laps on her brain and worry was creating a very uncomfortable feeling in her gut.

She sat near the window, looking out towards the moon wondering how this whole mess was going to end. Not that _everything _was a mess, there was Lloyd after all. For the first time in her life Naomi wondered what she looked like through someone else's eyes. She tried to picture herself, Well definitely too skinny and her eyebrows were too thick. Her lips were probably too small. . . Jeez what was she thinking? There was no way she could ever deserve anyone like him. He probably just felt sorry for her and that was the only reason he was nice.

"Awake again?" Lloyd's voice made her jump a little. He walked up beside her and both of their hearts started racing. "I really can't sleep either, with all this mess going on."

She nodded but kept looking out the window feeling insecure with him standing so close. A couple of fireflies lit up outside, enjoying their simple life.

"Hey there's an idea," Lloyd leaned against the window. "Ever caught fireflies before?"

Naomi slowly looked up at Lloyd trying hard not to blush when she stopped at his gorgeous eyes. After getting a hold of herself she shook her head slightly.

"I used to do that all the time back at my boarding school," he gently grabbed her hand and led her outside. "It's fun, I even have a jar we can put them in"

Naomi looked around; Fireflies would light up for a few seconds then disappear back into the dark night. She'd never done this before how was she supposed to know what to do? Honestly most of her didn't care, all that really mattered was that her and Lloyd were hanging out.

"Ok so watch," Lloyd stood still for a couple of seconds and waited for a firefly to light up near him. Then using both hands he gently caught it. "Open the jar please."

Naomi reached for the jar and opened it holding it close to Lloyd's hands. He released it and she quickly snapped the lid back on. The firefly flew around the jar bumping into the glass and lighting up once in a while. Naomi stared at it, she'd heard of fireflies but it was amazing that such a small creature could produce light.

"Alright your turn," Lloyd looked at Naomi. She pointed at herself and Lloyd nodded.

_Ok it didn't look so very hard. . . _Naomi stood up and tried to spot one. One finally lit up close to her and she moved towards it but as she reached it, the light went off and she was left there waiting until it finally reappeared a couple of feet away. She frowned, went towards it again and slammed her hands together quickly, to catch it before it could escape.

"I think you just murdered that one," Lloyd chuckled a bit as Naomi opened her hands to reveal the squished bug. She quickly wiped it away.

_Gross _she said in sign language once again forgetting she wouldn't be understood.

"Yeah. . . Gross"

Naomi froze and she stared at Lloyd. He smiled at her and winked.

"Been practicing with Zane, It still takes me a while but I'm getting there"

Naomi's smile shone with more happiness that she'd felt in a while. Maybe he _did_ like her after all.

"Now let me help you catch one," He gently entwined his fingers with hers so he could easily guide her hands. They sat still and waited for a few seconds, but to Naomi it didn't last nowhere near enough. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck and his heartbeat against her back. Her arms were covered in goose bumps by the time a firefly flew close enough for them to catch. Lloyd guided Naomi's hands and they caught it easily. Lloyd stayed quiet for a few seconds trying to come back from his daydream.

"So. . . yeah let's let's put it in the jar." After they placed it inside its temporary prison Lloyd tried to get his blushing back under control before Naomi noticed anything. "And. . . So yeah now you. . . you get it. . ."

They continued catching fireflies for a while then released them all when they were ready to go back inside. Naomi was really tired, there's absolutely nothing better to help you sleep than getting on the good ol'roller coaster of love. Lloyd reacted in a different way, he had a retarded smile glued to his face and he was filled with more energy than a sugar rush had ever given him. All he could do was stare at the ceiling and think to himself:

_Good job Lloyd _

**(So Just here to say the song is not MINE it belongs to LINKIN PARK it's called What I've done)**


	14. Nightmeres,training and other casualties

**(So I got buried in a couple of projects/ Essays (Gah! High school -.-) I've )**

Chapter 14- Nightmares, training and other casualties

_Running._

_Running into a forest deeply covered in frozen snow. Something stung on her arm. Lloyd's face takes up her vision. He's angry. He pushes her down into the snow while yelling something incomprehensible. _

_Falling, Falling into darkness. A voice echoes around her, it is the voice of an old man. His voice is wise and soft._

"_The key lies in its belly."_

_There's a loud roar all around her and she lands against a hard surface. When she sits up her eyes freeze when they encounter her brother, lying on a pool of blood beside her. There's a flash of light so bright, it blinds her._

"_The chalice in the chest."_

_Trapped in bright light. Sounds of thunder drum against her ears. She hears a scream. The scream is filled with anger and angst. A strong explosion rings through her body._

"_The chest covered by lighting." _

_The scream continues. As it gets louder she recognizes it as her brother's. But there's also something else. The scream is changing. The voice turns younger, sweeter and words begin to form._

"_No!" There's a small pause as the voice gasps for air. "You can't leave me!"_

_The voice belongs to Lloyd. She can see tears swelling up in his green eyes. They rain on her face, and she cries along with him. Pain fills every inch of her body, and Lloyd's face comes in and out of focus. Except its Pythor's face now, menacingly towering above her. His mouth opens and darkness clouds everything._

Naomi jumped up gasping for air.

She was shuddering, bathed in sweat with her heart trying to jump out of her mouth. Her head was pounding with a powerful headache causing a nauseating feeling in her stomach. Words pounded against her skull blurring out the world around her.

_Dragon, Chalice, chest. Dragon, Chalice, chest._

After a couple of minutes, when Naomi though her brain was about to implode, the pain started to slowly fade away and her vision cleared. It wasn't the first time she'd heard those words but it _was_ the first time the words had tried to murder her. She had to find Zane and tell him everything. Maybe this was important somehow. After that the ninja of Ice could tell his sensei and they'd be able to figure out what was wrong. Unless it was nothing at all, In which case she'd end up as a wimpy child who couldn't even deal with a headache.

_Come on Naomi that wasn't just any headache _A voice in her head pointed out

_Hey I'm fine aren't I? _

_Are you really?_

Naomi ignored the voice. This was no time to be talking to herself , she noticed that only her and Jay were left in the room. She quickly jumped out of bed and stared at Jay for a few seconds. She should probably wake him up before Casey barged in. He was half hanging off the bed anyway, and that couldn't be very comfortable. She stepped close and shook him a little.

He mumbled something then slowly opened his eyes. "Nya. . .?"

Naomi shook her head and Jay yawned, stretching out his muscles. "Aw rats. . . Am I the last one up?"

This time Naomi nodded and the blue ninja jumped up. They both walked out into the kitchen where Zane, Kai and Lloyd were eating some of last night's leftovers. Jay picked up a cupcake then, after double checking Casey wasn't anywhere near, bit down on it while sitting down beside Zane.

"Finally up huh?" Lloyd smiled as Naomi sat in front of him.

"Well soorryy some people have good dreams, " Jay replied munching down on his third cupcake.

"And others have lives," Kai said, trying to fix his hopeless hair.

"I got more of a life than you do," The ninja of lighting snapped back

"Ha you wish!"

"Hey! Just because Cole isn't here to smack you doesn't mean that you can start fighting for nothing," Lloyd stopped Kai and Jay before they started a brawling on the dinner table."Also Sensei said we had to train Naomi, so that she can take care of herself if Pythor decides to show up."

Purple eyes looked up at the ninja. Train her? Seriously? There was a wide smile spreading across her lips. Once she knew how to fight she'll show Pythor. . . Then of course she'd get her brother back.

"We should probably begin with sword training since it is the most basic skill," Zane suggested.

"Basic? Ha! Don't make me laugh using swords isn't easy! It takes years of practice and patience and only those with real skill, Like me for example, will ever be worthy of holding a sword," Kai protested.

"Nah," Jay pulled out his elemental sword. "It's like swinging a stick really there's no trick to it."

"Why you. . ." The ninja of fire growled throwing himself at Jay tackling the blue ninja to the floor. The blue ninja managed to get one of his arms free and grabbed hold of his sword swinging the hilt at the side of Kai's head. He rolled away freeing Jay then rubbed his head. "I was unprepared that doesn't count. . ."

Jay threw the lighting sword up in the air then caught it with ease. "See? Easy as pie"

"Actually baking a pie correctly is a complicated process Jay," Zane frowned

"Zane you're weird,"

"_Anyway_," Lloyd said loudly. "We have to train Naomi it doesn't really matter what we start with,"

After the ninja finished breakfast they headed out. The weather had changed since yesterday, there was a strong wind coming from the north that kept everyone shivering. Zane persisted on the fact that teaching Naomi how to use a sword first would be easier.

"Fine," Kai finally gave in, they couldn't use their elemental swords without making a mess so they had to borrow a couple of normal swords from Nya.

When her hands wrapped around the hilt of the sword Naomi knew she was in trouble. She had imagined swords to be light, but the thick metal was making her arms ache. It was all she could do not to drop it, now how was she going to swing it?

"I really really really wish we could've gotten wooden swords," Jay said nervously while helping Naomi getting into some of Nya's armor. The only upside to the armor, apart from protecting Naomi's vital organs, was that it was a bit warmer inside. Otherwise it was horrible; her arms weighed her down making it impossible to hold up the sword. Not to mention the helmet which was pushing down onto her skull. She knew Lloyd was watching though, so she'd have to do more than her best.

Hopefully her muscles wouldn't give up on her.

"Alright I guess we'll start with a basic move," Kai lifted his sword above his head then swung down cutting in half all the air molecules that were on the sword's way."Just an overhead cut go ahead try it"

Naomi took a deep breath. She tightened her grip on the sword then swung it up, so that it would actually make it over her head. This might have worked if it hadn't been for her sweaty palms which lost grip of the sword and sent it flying back lodging itself onto the wall, right above Jay's head.

"Y-You know maybe Kai's right," He quickly stepped away from the sword. "Let's start with something else"

The small purple eyed girl had now another reason to like the armor, it blocked any view the guys could have of her face which was now a deep shade of red. She didn't feel too bad about failing at sword fighting for now, no matter how bad she was at fighting Naomi had still single handedly defeated a 50 foot giant.

Even though a bit of luck _might _have been involved.

"Alright how about you teach her about nun chucks?" Kai threw his armor at Jay. "That should be entertaining"

"Wait what . . .?" Jay looked at the armor. "I'm I'm not a very good teacher. . ."

Lloyd threw the blue ninja some nun chucks then handed Naomi another pair. "Just do it"

"But. . . Ugh whatever. . ." Jay started swinging his nun chucks. "Just uh do what I do. . . And uh try not to hit yourself?"

Naomi weighed the nun chucks. This was much better, they were light and all she had to do was swing it right? Without hitting her face of course. She started copying Jay and everything worked out fine. Then, without warning, the loud sound of a motor traveled through the silence scaring Naomi half to death. She jumped slightly and her hands let go of the nun chuck sending them flying through the air slamming hard against Jay's forehead causing the poor ninja to black out.

For the moment no one noticed the state of the blue ninja, everyone was focused on the loud sound moving closer and closer to them. Casey, Misako and Sensei wu stepped out of the house trying to locate the source of the loud noises.

A gigantic and powerful tank revealed itself by pushing trees aside by force, creating its own path. Behind the tank many smaller vehicles followed. They all stopped in a ready to battle position and Naomi's worst nightmare stepped out from the tank, followed by her beloved brother.

"Hello Naomi," Pythor's voice was loud; he wanted to make sure everyone could hear him. "Go ahead and try to defeat me _thisss_ time"


	15. A girl worth fighting for

**(Sadly I had a couple of problems with writers block and this chapter isn't as long as I would have liked it to be)**

Chapter 15- A girl worth fighting for

Casey's arms were covered in fire as she stepped forward. "So It was _you_ who stole my prophecy!? I suggest you get the hell out of my forest before I burn every inch of your miserable body"

Pythor slithered back a little, slightly intimidated by the witch's anger. He chuckled nervously. "I'm afraid I can't leave without the stupid purple eyed girl."

"Well you can't have her!" Lloyd's voice echoed loudly through the forest. Thanks to Casey he had now recovered completely, and Pythor would regret ever coming here. Without giving anyone time to act he shot a powerful beam of light onto the tank, blowing up all of the unfortunate vehicles surrounding it or so it seemed. The only problem was that when the smoke cleared there was no sign of a wreck, everything was just _smoke_.

Lloyd's explosion caused the tank to shudder violently, almost sending Pythor back onto the ground. In that moment the fear in the snake's eyes was replaced by pure hatred. There was no way he would allow anyone to mess up his plans,_ Again. _He looked down at the mass of smoke below him. "Bring me the girl! And make sure to teach those ninja a lesson"

The green ninja's eyes widened as the smoke around Pythor started changing. As if in a dream, or more accurately a nightmare, it turned into many of their old enemies. Lloyd recognized a couple of snakes from every tribe, Skeletons and . . . no. . . Was that his father? With the weapons of spinjitzu?

"Not these guys again," Kai held tightly onto one of his sister's swords.

Lloyd turned to the red ninja to demand and explanation but he received a strong kick on the chest instead, sending him back against Naomi. He stood up reminding himself not to get distracted in the middle of battle, it didn't matter who he was fighting against he simply had to focus on keeping Naomi away from Pythor's greedy hands.

"Stay away!" He yelled at her while shooting more light beams at the approaching enemies. She nodded slightly and started moving close to the tree house. One of the smoke creatures had been expecting her, using the form of an emerald green hypnobrai it leaped at Naomi and she jumped back falling onto the grass. The creature laughed and moved towards her small body and that's when the girl realized she was still clutching onto the nun chucks Lloyd had given her. She swung it at the creatures head taking away its concioussness just like she had done with Jay, except this time she actually meant to do harm.

A couple of feet from Naomi's small victory stood sensei and Misako's defeat. All around them the smoke creatures had transformed into Sensei wu himself, thus acquiring the knowledge of spinjitzu. Misako was a great martial artist but no one could last long in a fight where your enemy tends to lose its physical form before you can make any contact. Also her sister had been right, the years hadn't been particularly nice to her and her muscles were starting to give out a lot sooner than she had expected. Lloyd's mother turned towards sensei to see how he was holding up. That was her first error; the second was the unnecessary seconds of shock when she realized Wu had been defeated.

In the few seconds she was distracted one of the creatures slammed against her using sensei's flawless spinjitzu techniques. Misako's body went flying back slamming hard against the ground and her brain lost grip on reality instantly. Not too far from there Lloyd and Kai had their own share of problems. They stood close to Jay who was still passed out on the muddy grass.

"God this is frustrating!"Kai groaned as yet another of his enemies turned into thin smoke before he could attack. "What are we supposed to do!?"

Lloyd managed the smack a creature that had been distracted a second too long. "Just. . . Just keep going we can't let him get my. . . We can't let him get Naomi"

The fire ninja dodged one of the many swords coming at him. "Uh. . . where _is_ Naomi?"

Lloyd risked a few seconds to look around. He couldn't see her anywhere; she had probably followed his advice and gone inside the house like he had ordered her to. Then his heart skipped a beat.

Cole had his arms wrapped around his sister in a gentle yet tight way. She struggled hopelessly, the black ninja's strength outmatched Naomi's effortlessly. Lloyd exploded with light, throwing back all his enemies opening a path to the pair of terrified purple eyes. He focused only on the girl tuning out everything else.

Once again Lloyd had made the deadly mistake of turning his back on the real threat.

And this time the real threat was Pythor.

Two of his minions had stayed away from the battle ready to help and protect their leader as necessary. Now both of them lay in the snake's hands transformed into the shape of an unmistakable grenade launcher. First he aimed at Nya, whose samurai armor was allowing her to get far too close for comfort. The grenade hit its mark, sending the suit flying down slamming against the earth with a tremendous force. The anacondrai chuckled, evil ringing within every sound then he fired at the place where Kai and Casey had teamed up, actually starting to defeat some of his warriors. Once again the snake hit his mark and both bodies went flying back in opposite directions.

When Pythor turned to locate Cole and the girl his eyes clicked on the small green figure that was moving fast towards his tank. His lips moved up to form a cruel smile. "Goodbye you little pest. . ."

Lloyd didn't know what happened. One minute everything was completely clear around him and he felt more powerful than he had felt in ages. The next he couldn't feel a thing and the world spun violently around him. Then his brain slowly started up again and the pain started flowing in. First there was the headache, he felt as if half his head had been blown off. The thick smoke didn't help at all; it clung to his vocal cords forcing him to cough violently increasing the pain in his head.

Nothing compared to the hurt that traveled up from his legs though. They burned, Ached and throbbed. He couldn't move them at all, The muscles would simply not respond. Lloyd thought he saw a flash of light but then his vision failed him for a couple of seconds. When the darkness faded he could make out Pythor's tank driving away into the forest. Even though he couldn't see her he knew Naomi was trapped in there.

Lloyd tried to move the muscles in his arms. They shot a few pain signals up his brains but otherwise worked flawlessly. H e didn't quite know why he was doing this, there was only one thought running laps through his brain.

_I have to get Naomi._

Using only his arms, Lloyd dragged himself forward until he felt a weight on his back stop him from going any further.

"You'll be no use to her dead," It was Casey's voice, it was her who was keeping him from getting Naomi. The green ninja tried to pull away, or yell at her but he could do nothing. He could feel something draining his energy at an incredible speed causing him to lose consciousness in a matter of seconds. He fought it off for as long as he could but in the end Casey's sleep spell was stronger than his will.

**(Random authors note: I wonder how many of you thought of Disney's Mulan when you read the title)**


	16. Family bonds

Chapter 16- Family bonds

Pythor took a deep breath trying to keep calm, but Naomi was making everything extremely difficult for him. No matter how much he threatened her, the girl would not tell them what they needed to know. When he had first asked about any weird dreams or _any _kind of information that was somehow imprinted in her brain Pythor saw something light up in the purple eyes. So he was confident Naomi knew what he wanted to know.

He forced his anger down. "Little girl . . . just tell your brother about your dreams . . . and then maybe we'll let you go."

Naomi kept her small hands behind her back. Of course she knew what the snake meant; He must want to know the mysterious words that kept echoing in her head. She didn't know why, only that it was probably a very bad idea to cooperate. Naomi might not be the best fighter but she could definitely keep her mouth, or rather her hands, shut.

The snake growled when she kept quiet and raised his hand violently, meaning to slap the girl's cheek. His hand never hit its mark. Cole stopped it inches away, his fingers wrapped tightly around Pythor's wrist. "We'll get the information but you won't lay a finger on my sister."

The ninja loosened his grip and Pythor quickly pulled his arm away. There was a small hint of fear deep within the serpentine's eyes and he realized how big of threat Cole really was. The smoke creatures weren't very loyal to him yet and if the ninja of earth decided to try and fight Pythor now they would simply step back and wait for the outcome. Yes, the serpentine was in a very difficult position but in the end he would come out victorious.

But only if he played his cards right.

Pythor slithered back a couple of inches. "Of course. . . . I think I know how we can get her to cooperate"

Naomi looked up at her brother who stood in front of her, blocking Pythor from her view. "Alright I'm listening. . ."

The purple snake called over one of the smoke creatures who had conveniently transformed into a hypnobrai for the previous battle. Cole's eyes widened a little as he figured out Pythor's plan. The uncomfortable memory of when he was hypnotized came back to him. It had been scary, being trapped inside his own mind with only darkness for a companion while someone else's will controlled his body. The experience wasn't at all pleasant but it was the only way his sister would cooperate. And he really _really _needed her to cooperate.

The smoke creature stepped in front of Naomi and her eyes were automatically drawn to its glowing red eyes. They washed a certain feeling of calm over her, relaxing her muscles and, most of all, relaxing her deeply stressed mind. Naomi's consciousness tried to alert her that something was amiss, but then it too felled for the power of the creature's eyes. Within seconds the purple eyed girl lost control over her mind.

Cole flinched unwillingly when he saw the blank stare on her sister's eyes. When he turned to Pythor he noticed that the snake was enjoying this far too much. The ninja easily kept his anger in check though, once they found the chalice and reached the golden peaks he'd easily get rid of the snake along with all the people that stood against him.

He deeply wished his sister wouldn't be one of them.

"Alright now," Pythor slithered towards Naomi's hypnotized body. "Tell us where the chalice is."

Naomi's hands stayed still for a few seconds then they shot up and started moving effortlessly while Cole translated. "Dragon, Chalice, Chest. . . The key lies in its belly. . . The chalice in the chest. . . The chest covered by lighting. . . Dragon, Chalice, Chest"

Pythor scribbled every word down in a old blank scroll for further study. It made no sense to him now but it would, when he had time to read it calmly. After all he had solved the riddles that had led him to unleash the devourer.

"Alright you can take her away or whatever," Pythor took the scroll with him and slithered into his tank, which was the closest to a private headquarters as one could get. If you ignored the fact that the tank was a creature as well that is.

Cole waited for the anacondrai to disappear within the tank before he turned back towards his sister. She was now back to herself and staring at her hands wondering what had happened in the last few minutes. Well they didn't need her anymore, though Pythor would probably want to keep her prisioner so that she couldn't run back to the others and uncover their plans. But he couldn't keep her here Pythor would surely find a way to hurt his sister somehow. Besides they already had a head start and a strong army so how much trouble could she really be?

To be honest with himself he just wanted his sister away from harm and maybe if he sent her back to the ninja they'd use their heads and send her to their father. He gently pulled Naomi up to her feet. "Come on we gotta get you back."

Purple eyes looked up at him. _You're coming too right?_

"Of course not!" He turned away. "I can't go"

Naomi sighed. She knew her brother was stubborn, a quality they had in common, and if he said no then there was no changing his mind. He led her to their outskirts of the small camp, where the tank had left deep tracks in the mud.

"Just follow the tracks," Cole still refused to look at his sister. "They should lead back to where the others are."

Naomi nodded looking up at his brother. He knew the evil hadn't fully corrupted his heart and, perhaps, there would be a way to bring him back to normal. She stood on her tip toes and gently planted a kiss on his cheek then ran off into the forest following the tracks like Cole had ordered.


	17. Calm before the storm

**(So YAY Finally got internet at home so it should be way easier to upload chapters now!)**

Chapter 17- Calm before the storm

Lloyd was the last one to awake. He pushed a sweaty patch of hair off his eyes and slowly manage to sit up. The muscles on his legs complained and he looked down, seeing his right leg had thick bandages around it. A bit surprise at the fact that Casey hadn't heal him completely he sat up and hopped out onto the living room where a thick dark cloud of defeat hung around the others.

His mother and Jay had bandages around their heads. Kai's skin was pale, as if he'd lost a lot of blood. Zane's arm had popped off his body and he was hard at work on reattaching all the nerves correctly, but he seemed to be having a hard time. Sensei had no noticeable wounds, and Nya seemed to have multiple burns in her face and arms the kind that would definitely make a thick stubborn scar. There was no sign of Misako's sister.

Seeing everyone lying there, in a melodramatic atmosphere angered Lloyd. "What is this? We should all be ready to rescue Naomi!"

Misako sighed, she had expected this reaction from her son. "There's nothing to do Lloyd, we're all wounded and Pythor is far to powerful right now."

"So what? It's not like a few scary weapons ever kept us from fighting."

"A few?" Kai protested.

"Ok maybe there's a lot but we can't just _give up_"

Sensei stood up. "It is not 'giving up' Lloyd, We can't just go looking for them in the shape we are in. It would be foolish, we would be asking for certain death. The only thing we can do now is regain our strength and improve our strategies."

"Yeah, meanwhile the enemy gets stronger too." Lloyd leaned against the couch so he wouldn't put much pressure on his leg. "They have Naomi which means they're closer to their goal, It's Now or never"

"I know you're worried man," Jay looked directly into the green ninja's eyes. "But sensei is right we're in no shape to fight."

"Then we can use stealth." The stubborn Ninja persisted.

"I don't think that would work, Not with Cole on their side."Zane pointed out.

"Well we can. . . I don't know" Lloyd looked down trying to come up with any ideas that could persuade his friends to agree with him. Couldn't they see the more they left Pythor alone the stronger he would get. Besides weren't they supposed to be heroes? How could they leave Naomi in the situation she was in? His mind wouldn't come up with any valid ideas, other than throwing a temper tantrum which he was far too old to do.

"Once Casey regains her strength we can all go rescue Naomi son, I promise." Misako helped Lloyd sit down. "But for now try to get some rest please"

So he was not going to convince anybody. The green ninja sighed, seemed like he was going to have to sneak out once again. To avoid arousing any suspicion on the others, Lloyd did everything his mother told him to, which included drinking the awful Kill-My-Taste-Buds medicine his mother had whipped up using all kinds of exotic, funky smelling herbs. He couldn't be _too_ good though or else his mother would know something was up, she had a tendency to read between the lines of the green ninja's actions. With this in mind, he kept a somewhat annoyed look on his face whenever anyone was around. In the couple of minutes he managed to be out of sight, Lloyd tried to walk a couple of steps but it was an impossible task. His leg would simply not take his weight, at least not without numbing his brain with pain. He could still spinjitzu without any problems so between that and hopping forward on his left leg he would get to Naomi.

He simply _had _to get to her.

Lloyd knew it was slightly foolish of him to attempt a rescue without a solid plan and on his own, he was not the best at improvising, but this wasn't just about his stubbornness, or Naomi, or Pythor. No, This had something to do with the dread growing in his mind. A strong feeling of terrible things, like the suspenseful calm before a great storm. He knew destiny couldn't be changed but Lloyd also knew he couldn't just stand back and watch.

As the day passed on, everyone headed to bed rather early hoping to accelerate time and force the gloomy day to end. When darkness gifted Lloyd with invisibility, he limped out into the jungle feeling a strong sense of Déjà vu from the last time he had tried to rescue Naomi alone. This time was different, because he wouldn't allow his cockiness to cloud his judgment. Lloyd knew he wouldn't stand a chance in a battle, so he would use stealth to get Naomi in and out. While creating plans for all the different outcomes, the good the bad and (Somewhat reluctantly) the ugly, Lloyd was forced back into reality by the sound of loud careless footsteps traveling fast towards his position.

Without hesitating, the green ninja swaggered into the forest to hide from whoever was coming. The footsteps seemed to quicken, had he been spotted? Lloyd's heartbeat was so loud he was sure everyone in a 20 mile radius would be able to hear it.

To his surprise, and extreme relief, It was Naomi herself who was revealed in the moonlight. Before she ran past him he spinjitzued out of the forest causing her to fall back in terror, but it all washed away when she recognized him.

Lloyd helped her up, unable to keep the retarded smile off his face. "You're You're ok! How did you. . .? Ok never mind the questions we need to get you back."

Naomi looked at Lloyd and worry filled her face. Why was he out here all alone? All alone a_nd _injured to top it all off! It didn't take her long to figure out he had been planning on rescuing her. She felt even worst after realizing that, All Naomi was good at was getting others hurt and she hated herself more and more for it. Well, at least she was her now and could help Lloyd to walk back to the tree house by allowing him to lean some of his weight against her. Feeling his warm skin so close caused the purple-eyed girl to blush, even though she was trying hard to act normal.

It wasn't long before the first sunrays started to peek out from the horizon causing Lloyd's heart to sink. His mother would wake up any second and find him gone. Oh, that would certainly be the death of him. He could already imagine his mother's angry voice and see worry sketched almost painfully into her features. Lloyd was glad his father had stayed behind, he didn't know how Lord Garmadon would react to his son breaking the rules but Lloyd sure didn't want to find out anytime soon.

All worries were wiped off his mind in a second, when a loud roar echoed around them. Naomi froze with fear but Lloyd's muscles tensed. The roar hadn't come from a bloodthirsty creature; it sounded more like a cry for help than anything else.

The green ninja's face became paler, if possible, as he half whispered half yelled with his throat choked up with worry. "My dragon!


	18. I hate you

Chapter 18- I hate you

Lloyd forgot all about his leg, Naomi and his surroundings. All he focused on was wherever his dragon's roars where coming from. He limped as fast as he could, determined to keep moving. The roar was closer now but it wasn't just his dragon, there were others as well

This realization froze him for a couple of seconds. _Other dragons?_

He pushed the thought away quickly before it could slow him down further. He didn't care what he was running into all that mattered was that he had to save his friend. Only a couple more steps now, he could see his four-headed now surrounded by what seemed to be ten others, their scales coated in red. Right below stood Pythor with a somewhat sad-looking Cole standing beside him.

Before throwing himself out into the action something tackled him from behind sending impossibly strong pain signals shoot up from his leg. Lloyd whirled around expecting to face an enemy but coming face to face with Naomi.

He pushed her off. "Don't get in the way"

Naomi dragged Lloyd down again though, there was no way she was going to allow him in the fight. There were too many of the smoke creatures around, when Lloyd was just one. There was also Pythor standing tall and perfectly healthy, when Lloyd was in no shape to fight.

"Stop! My Dragon!" Lloyd yelled trying to wrestle out of Naomi's grip. A pained roar filled his ears. Lloyd panicked, why didn't she let him go? Was she on their side now?

Naomi covered Lloyd's mouth to try and keep him from yelling. She didn't even what to think about what would happen if they were discovered. Pythor never liked Lloyd in the first place and now he didn't even need Naomi. He was sure to kill them both without giving it a second thought.

Lloyd bit down on Naomi's hand and tasted blood. His eyes widened and he stopped wrestling , he hadn't meant to actually hurt her. The moment didn't last, another roar from his dragon fueled him with anger once more and he tried to get the girl off him by any means possible. They fought each other for a while. Lloyd ignoring the pain to get away and save the dragon while trying not to hurt the purple-eyed child and Naomi not being too careful on not hurting Lloyd, determined to stop him from doing something crazy.

A loud roar made them both stop struggling and look up at the battle in the sky. The ground beneath them shook as the roar continued and they both covered their sensitive ears. The body of Lloyd's dragon glowed with a bright golden color for a second then the next it was gone. A small silver key fell onto the ground below and Pythor smiled.

"_The key lies in its belly._" The snake chuckled. "It's no riddle at all, the instructions are quiet literal"

Cole stayed quiet, his eyes gave nothing away but the small frown on his eyebrows proved he wasn't too far from tears. Hidden behind the trees Lloyd didn't try to hold anything back. Naomi had finally let go of him and he looked down at her with eyes as full of anger as they were full of tears.

They both stood, Lloyd's expression never changing. "It . . . He's gone and. . . You. . . It was all _you_"

Naomi stepped back. She knew Lloyd would be angry but the expression in his eyes was too much. A knot tangled itself in her throat as she readied herself for his outburst.

"It's your fault Cole's evil, It's your fault everyone keeps getting hurt and It's your fault my dragon is gone!" Angry tears reddened Lloyd's green eyes. "Everything would have been much better if I'd just left you with Pythor"

Naomi try to hold back her own tears clawing at her eyes but she couldn't. Every word that escaped Lloyd's lips was a direct shot to her heart. The worst part of it all was that every syllable rang with undeniable truth. It w_as_ all her fault. All of it. She should have never bothered the ninja, no, she should have never even been born.

"You're just full of problems." Anger was clouding Lloyd's every thought. He pushed Naomi back onto the ground. "I . . . I _hate _you!"

The small girl felt the full impact of the words, her world shattered and her heart imploded.

"There you two are!" Casey burned a couple of trees out of her way as she traveled but the fire never spread. She rolled her eyes when she saw they were both in tears. "Teenage dramas I presume? Well no time for that if I don't bring you back Lloyd I fear your mother will murder us all"

Lloyd wiped away the stupid tears before turning towards Casey. "Teenage Dramas? My Dra-"

"Zip it, you can tell the others the whole story when you're back." Casey cut him off. "All I really want is for your mother to stop freaking out. At first it was amusing but now it's just plain irritating."

The green ninja held back his anger. Blowing up in front of a witch wasn't exactly a good idea. Much less if the witch happened to be a pyromaniac. He limped towards Casey but Naomi didn't move at all.

Casey sighed. "Seriously girl get a move on "

_But he hates me!_ Naomi thought, remembering the witch's ability to read minds.

"And I suppose staying here and getting eaten by wild animals will make him like you again?"

The girl looked at Lloyd, who seemed too angry to really listen to anything they were saying. She stood up, Casey was right, staying in the forest would do nothing.

As they walked back, well limped in Lloyd's case, loads of wild thoughts and feelings were running wildly through Naomi's mind. Three words kept coming back at her, even though she tried to push them away.

_I hate you_

_I hate you_

_I hate you_

The pain those three words caused was almost unbearable, but Naomi didn't regret holding Lloyd back. She had kept him safe, and with that thought in mind she was able to keep her head held high while forcing one foot in front of the other.


	19. Jay's intervention

**(My gosh finally I write something! I've been bad not following my one chapter a week rule but you know with school and stuff it gets hard to buuuut I managed to finish and upload! Enjoy!)**

Chapter 19- Jay's intervention

Through Naomi's eyes, the following days were almost unbearable. Every time Lloyd and her were in the same room the air would feel with tension. She would look up, eyes pleading for forgivnes. As always, he wouldn't look. He would stare at the floor intently his bangs hanging low to cover the rest of his face. At that moment, knowing she wasn't wanted, Naomi would step out and find another place to be. The only thing that kept her going was her training. The other ninja worked hard at teaching her as much as they could about self-defense. Modesty aside, Naomi was getting pretty good at kicking butt, she had even managed to beat Kai once at sword fighting.

Through Lloyd's eyes things weren't any better. Whenever Naomi was around a strong sense of guilt clawed at his heart, the words he had yelled ringed in his ears causing his stomach to become upset. He couldn't even bear to look at her afraid of what he might see. Would it be Anger? Probably. He was so sure she hated him for being such a jerk. To confirm his suspicions, every time he and Naomi were in the same room she would leave, as if she couldn't stand his presence. Lloyd knew he deserved it all but that didn't stop his heart from breaking.

This is why Jay was obliged to jump in.

Skipping Naomi's training session the blue ninja headed inside to look for Lloyd. He wasn't very surprised when he found the green ninja on the second floor, watching Naomi train through the window, half hidden by the curtain.

"Spying are we?" Jay chuckled, causing Lloyd to jump and hit his head on the low ceiling.

Lloyd's cheeks turned bright red. "No I was just making sure the window was the right amount of thickness so that people can safely slam through for a dramatic entry. .?"

"What?"

"Yeah that was just nonsense I was spying. . ." The green ninja admitted.

"Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd. . ." Jay shook his head. "You, my friend, have fallen into the deep end of love"

"So what?"He shrugged. "I messed it all up"

Jay rolled his eyes." Then _fix _it"

"She hates me."

"Does not."

"Does too"

Jay stepped back a little, heading for the door his hands up in the air. "Just trying to help little man but if you want things to stay like this then fiiine. . ."

"No!"Lloyd jumped up. "Please help, I have no idea what to do please _please _help"

Even though he hated to admit it, the green ninja was completely lost. He knew, of course, that apologizing was necessary but a simple 'I'm sorry' just didn't seem appropriate. Lloyd had, almost literally, grabbed Naomi's trusting heart and shattered it into millions (Maybe even billions) Of small, unfixable pieces. So no, a simple, weak, idiotic 'sorry' would not do. Problem was, Lloyd had no idea as to where to start. And even if he did figure out a way to do something amazing for Naomi there was always the big dangerous possibility that she would still push him away.

In short, The heroic green ninja felt guilty, hurt and terrified at the same. He was helplessly trapped in a tornado of his own emotions.

It's what love does to people, you know?

Jay smiled. "Don't worry I have a perfect plan. . . We'll need to fix you up a bit. . . and of course we'll need flowers. . ."

"Fix me up?"

"Well yeah we can't let you apologize looking like _that._"

Lloyd looked down at himself. His bandaged foot, his dirty clothes and his messy hair were certainly not very attractive. "Ok what do I do?"

"Leave it to me."

For the rest of the day Jay worked on making Lloyd look his best. They practiced things he could say though secretly Lloyd wasn't exactly paying attention. He didn't think fancy words and silly poems would make any difference. But he accepted his little 'make-over'(Though he honestly felt like an idiot) and Jay's flower idea because he was scared beyond his wits and really needed some support.

When the moon rose on the sky, full and gorgeous, The ninja of lighting decided it was time.

Naomi had started a new habit in the last couple of days. She would sit outside of the treehouse and stare at the stars, sometimes counting them and sometimes making impossible wishes.

Tonight she only had one wish.

_Please let Lloyd forgive me._

It might have been her imagination, but it seemed as if one of the stars winked down at her.

"Um.." Lloyd was pushed forward by Jay, right into Naomi's line of sight. "Hi."

Naomi was frozen. Was he going to yell again?

Lloyd pulled out the bouquet of flowers him and Jay had made from the flowers around the forest. "Look, Naomi, I really have to say I'm sorry. For being such an idiot. For hurting you like that, because you don't deserve it. You're awesome and I should, like, be squished by a bus for talking to you that way."

"I'm not very great with words. But I think I should try to say what I feel anyway, You don't have to forgive me or anything but just listen ok?" Lloyd was sweating really bad now and his legs felt like jelly. Naomi was staring at him with a blank look that made him feel even worst. "I like you. I like you _like _you. I can't stand to see you hurt and I think you're amazing in every possible way. I love the way your hair is all crazy, I love the way your eyes sparkle and I love the way you're always so eager to learn. You're-"

But what Naomi was, no one found out because Lloyd was interrupted in midsentence by Naomi's small arms wrapping tightly around him, squishing the flowers between them. An innocent smile spread across both of their faces as moon light reflected from their eyes. Jay stared, wanting to shout _kiss her!_ so badly.

Naomi shivered a little as Lloyd leaned forward.

They both closed their eyes. . .


	20. Pythor's plan

Chapter 20-Pythor's plan

Pythor examined the old key closely while Cole stood a few feet away. The ninja was still furious, and hurt, about the Dragon's death and he was planning to overthrow Pythor as soon as the Chalice was discovered and they reached the golden peaks.

But for now he had to play it cool.

"So the 'Chest covered by lighting' " Cole read from the paper where he had written Naomi's words. "Meaning metaphorically or literally?"

"Well the one about the key was very literal." Pythor chuckled and Cole tightened his fists trying hard not to attack the snake. "So I'm guessing this will be the same,"

"Okay then, the only place I can think of with lightning is where we got Jay's nun chucks." The ninja frowned, forcing himself to remember. "In a floating city"

The snake nodded. This made sense, hiding the chalice close to one of the most dangerous of the golden weapons. "And you remember where this city is?"

"Of course." Cole stood, he had to get away from the snake before he did something stupid. It was terribly tempting to swing his Scythe at the snake and end his life right then and there but Pythor was the only one who knew how to reach the golden peaks so pleasurable as it might seem Cole harm the snake.

Let's rephrase that. Cole couldn't harm the snake _yet._

"I'll get the others ready then." The ninja muttered before walking out, leaving Pythor alone in his private tank.

Pythor stared at the spot that Cole had been standing not much less than a few seconds ago. He couldn't Cole anymore, not after he had allowed the girl to escape. He sensed the ninja would try to overthrow him any minute now, going after the dragon had been the last straw. But the snake wouldn't let him destroy his plans so easily.

In fact, Pythor had a great idea forming in his sick evil mind causing a twisted, cruel smile to appeer on his lips. He needed the ninja's knowledge to find this 'floating city' but after that Cole would really be useless to him. Also a city in the sky really seemed like the perfect place for a lethal "accident" to occur, one that rid him of the ninja forever.

Who knows, if he was lucky the other ninja might show up as well along with the Naomi girl and Pythor would get a small taste of revenge when the girl saw his brother's downfall.

It seemed that for the first time in a long while, the gods were finally in his favor

**(Ok so super short chapter, I know, but I had to write this scene before moving on to the next chapter which will be a Oh-My-God-I-Will-Have-A-Heartattack-If-You-Don't-S top chapter, well that's what I feel like as I'm writing it, I needs it to be perfectly awesome though, so it might be up until Saturday but ill try to get it ready tomorrow since this one was too tiny)**


	21. The Chalice

Chapter 21- The chalice

A first kiss is one of the high points of a person's life. Some first kisses are wasted through a simple dare or just a desperate move but most are due to a chain of events that end with this perfect moment. Sometimes a first kiss has to play a part in a dramatic in a turning point.

Which is why Lloyd and Naomi couldn't kiss just yet.

Their lips were inches apart, both of their eyes closed.

"Oh gross," Casey's voice came up from behind them.

The green ninja jumped back and Naomi's eyes snapped open. With the moment ruined, they were both blushing furiously, praying that the earth would open up and swallow them both.

"I would very much appreciate if you two didn't try to eat each other when I'm around," Casey passed by them heading towards the tree house but suddenly stopped and turned around. "Oh and Lloyd? Try not to puff up your cheeks before a kiss, you looked ridiculous."

Lloyd's face turned into a stronger shade of red.

When Casey had gone, The green ninja turned towards Naomi whose cheeks were as red, if not more, as his. They both stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to react now that the magic of the moment had left them.

"It's a little cold, we should head back inside." Lloyd finally broke the silence.

Naomi nodded and they headed back towards the tree house, leaving Jay with only a couple of seconds to run into the room and pretend he had been asleep the whole time, not sitting by the window spying on the two lovebirds. Once inside, Lloyd went straight to his bed and covered himself with blankets even though he knew it would be hopeless to try and sleep. Naomi felt the same way, and they both stayed awake through the night staring up at the dark ceiling, thinking about each other.

The next sensei informed them of their next move to stop Pythor from ruining everyone's lives.

"According to what Naomi told Pythor, he will be looking for the chalice somewhere that is filled by lighting," Sensei Wu reminded everyone. "And after discussing it with Misako we think he might try heading to the city in the sky, where we found the Nunchucks of lighting,"

"Ha! Excellent! I loved that place," Jay smiled.

Wu ignored the hyperactive ninja and continued. "You ninja will have to go alone, because me and Misako have to set out to get Garmadon since he's the only one of us who has been to the golden peeks before and we will need his knowledge."

"Wait." Kai's hand shot up to his singed hair. "Does that mean Casey's coming with _us_?"

"Oh I know you would love for me to accompany you," Casey walked in playing with a small fireball, as usual. At the sight of this Kai scooted away with incredible speed. " But I need to stay and learn a couple of more spells, so when I do see that snake again it will regret ever messing with me."

The ninjas relaxed. A trip with Casey without sensei or Misako would have been really terrifying.

"What about Naomi?" Lloyd was the first to ask.

"I think she could go with you guys as well," Misako winked at her son. "She seems pretty capable of taking care of herself now."

Lloyd nodded, trying hard to hide the smile that was forming in his lips.

"We can take the earth driller, Just finished patching it up last night." Nya said. "I also added another speed and improved the engine so it won't overheat."

"Nya, you're amazing." Jay smiled.

Nya blushed and kissed the blue ninja's cheek while Lloyd made a mental note to compliment Naomi whenever he could.

After another delicious breakfast everyone headed out to their own destinations. The trip to the floating city lasted only a couple of hours, thanks to Nya's improvement of the earth driller. The vehicle moved at an incredible speed, causing the scenery outside to look like a mess of melted colors. Zane was at the wheel, since Nya hadn't been with them when they went to collect the golden wepons. The nindroid remembered that to reach the mysterious city they had to climb the tallest mountain on ninjago, Mount Geodaehan, and there they would find an old yet strong chain coming down from the clouds. Upon climbing it they would have reached their destination.

A couple of miles ahead of our heroes, Pythor and Cole had climbed atop the mountain along with a couple of the smoke creatures who hovered around them in a protective sort of way.

"We're ssupposed to climb _thisss_?" Pythor eyed the rope with a suspiciously.

"I'll go first if you're so scared." Cole smirked then started climbing, his muscles working in perfect rhythm.

"I've got a better plan," Pythor turned to face one of the creatures. "You there, turn into a helicopter, I'm not exactly a climber."

Smoke turned solid, creating an electric blue helicopter. The snake slid inside and they headed up passing past Cole in a matter of seconds. Once they had both reached the top Pythor ordered his minions to stay close to the chain, in case the other ninjas decided to show up.

Cole surveyed the city. It looked abandoned, just like the last time he had visited. Most of the buildings were half destroyed, missing big chunks of the walls and ceilings with broken glass sprinkled along the empty streets. Lighting flashed at short and irregular intervals filling the air with so much electricity that the tips of the black ninja's bangs were lifting up revealing his usually hidden forehead. He frowned and tried to force it back in place but once his hand stopped pushing down his hair would shoot right back up.

"Where exactly do we look anyway?" Cole asked. "There must be hundreds of buildings each with plenty of hiding places to make us look for an eternity."

Pythor pointed up, where the Temple of Lightning lay atop yet another mountain. "That would be a good place to start."

While they headed up towards the Lightning infested temple, the Ninjas, Nya and Naomi had reached the top of the mountain after a climb that had seemed to be never ending. Naomi's hands, which had once been soft and pale, were now extremely sunburned and filled with multiple small cuts. The last thing she wanted to do was climb a twenty foot long chain that would make her hands bleed more than ever but she couldn't show any weaknesses in front of the others especially since they had climbed as much as her but weren't making any complaints.

Zane sent his falcon to scout ahead, so they could plan ahead according to whatever scene awaited them above the thick clouds. Even the few plans that seem to be flawless can go wrong, but it never hurts to have a slight idea of what will happen once you rush into the action instead of jumping in clueless of the threats that might await.

"There are four of the strange creatures waiting for us directly above the chain," Zane informed the others while stroking his bird's soft feathers. "Then he also spotted Pythor and Cole heading into a temple."

"Well there's six of us," Jay counted. "So we could take on the smoke thingamabobs ."

"Those things aren't what we should be focused on," Kai argued. "We're here for that snake."

Lloyd stepped forward, without Cole here he imagined being the green ninja made him the next in line for leadership. "I have an idea."

"First, Zane and Kai you will try to lure some of the creatures away then Jay and Nya you two will go up and distract any that might have stayed behind. Me and Naomi will wait for a while, giving you guys time to take the things as far from the temple as possible. Then we'll climb and head for the temple to stop Pythor from doing whatever he's planning to do."

"It's the only thing we got, C'mon Zane" Kai stood and began climbing, followed by the white ninja.

Once they set foot into the city, the creatures transformed into different types of serpentine right as Kai and Zane got their swords ready.

"We can't leave the chain unguarded," The creature disguised as a venomari pointed out. "You stay, I will take care of these two"

Then it transformed again. Its arms grew shorter and shorter until there was nothing left. It grew bigger, stopping only when its body was ten times bigger than what it had started with. Its leg grew closer together until they formed a massive tail. The face of the creature grew longer, and its mouth opened wide while long, sharp and extremely poisonous fangs sticking out at every angle. The shadow of the humongous animal towered over the two small ninja, who almost dropped their weapons out of fear and amazement.

The great devourer was back.

"This. . . Was _not _supposed to happen." Kai stumbled back.

"We do not have time to complain Kai just _run!_"Zane yelled then ran into the city followed by the red ninja who was in turned followed by the colossal snake.

It wasn't a very fair chase. The ninja had become really fast due to their extreme training but for every ten of their steps the great devourer needed only one flick of its strong tail. If they didn't come up with a plan soon, they would turn into no more than a snack. The thing is, running for your life isn't exactly the best moment to create a life saving plan, not with a strong sense of fear clouding all your senses.

It's also very challenging to keep your balance in a moment like this.

Kai misjudged his step and set his foot down right onto a shard of broken glass. The unexpected pain sent him down, causing yet another piece of glass to stab itself into the ninja's knee. Zane, sensing something had gone terribly wrong, stop running and turned just in time to see the snake, its head turned towards an extremely vulnerable Kai.

A few feet behind them Jay and Nya had reached the top of the chain and were dealing with their own problems. The smoke creatures that had stayed behind hadn't been as powerful as the one after the other two ninja, but being able to turn into 3 larger-than-average wolves was deadly enough.

"Jay! Watch it!" Nya's yell was the only reason the blue ninja managed to dodge the bite from the wolf covered in light brown fur. He swung his sword at it but like always it returned into its smoke form before it the ninja could do any real damage.

That was the creature's biggest mistake.

The deeper Jay and Nya ran into the city, the stronger the storm around them seemed to get. The wind could almost lift Nya off the ground so when the creature had stopped using its physical form the wind had whipped it away, perhaps never to be seen again.

"Ha! Idiot!" Jay smiled.

There were still two more wolves to worry about, so Jay couldn't enjoy his victory much. He allowed Nya to fight one on her own, while he swung his sword at the other. He came rather close to getting his limbs bit off but in the end he managed to force the creature into its smoke form and the wind forced it away like the one before it.

He turned to see how his favorite girl in the world was doing, and his heart stopped.

Nya was out cold, the last of the wolves standing on top of her small body showing off its sharp teeth while aiming at her neck.

A couple of feet above them, Naomi and Lloyd climbed towards the temple fighting the wind that seemed to be pushing them down. The rock of the mountain was slippery and if it hadn't been for the adrenaline pulsing through their veins, they would have fallen to their doom long ago.

Tired as both of them felt, stopping wasn't an option anymore.

Not too far above them Pythor was sliding the key into the a small golden chest that had been hidden behind a painting of what could have been a man or a monster, time had worn it out so much that it was impossible to tell.

"Finally. . ." The snake's hand shook as he heard the click of the box unlocking. He lifted the lid and carefully pulled out the powerful Chalice. He ran his hands through it, not daring to believe he had finally done it fearing something could go wrong once he did.

"Let's get out of here." Cole's impatient voice came up from behind him.

Of course! He had almost forgotten he had to get rid of the ninja before doing anything else. Pythor turned towards Cole, his intentions shining through his evil grin.

"I think you should take the quick way down," Pythor smiled even more.

Cole's eyes grew wide. Before he had a chance to react the snake grabbed his suit tightly then pushed him back off the edge.

**(I couldn't upload it on Saturday because I got a bit lazy but C'mon I think Sunday at 3:30 am is still counted as Saturday…. Either way I feel SO evil right now there's like 3 cliffhangers up there**…. **)**


	22. We're losing

Chapter 22-We're losing

Time seemed to slow down through Kai's eyes. He could feel the sharp pain from his leg numbing his whole lower body; feel the warm thick blood soaking into his outfit. He could see the sharp fangs traveling closer towards his body, the flashes of lighting illuminating the snake's red eyes. The smell of death inched closer, and the red ninja could do nothing but stare.

In Zane's perspective, however, time was ticking with overwhelming speed. He could move extremely fast due to the fact that he was a nindroid but as he climbed up the side of a wrecked building, Zane feared it wouldn't be fast enough. He knew his plan had almost no chance of working but under the circumstances planning things carefully would only cause his friend's death.

Once Zane had climbed a couple of feet above the terrifying snake, he pushed himself back into the air flipped once in the air and landed safely on the great devourer's back. It was so focused on destroying Kai that it didn't try to shake the white ninja off. With time still running out, Zane pulled out his sword and plunged it deep into the snake's head.

The ninja flipped off the creature's body and grabbed onto the edge of the building. "Kai! Move!"

The ninja of fire needed no encouragement. With everything moving slowly, he was able to spot Zane and his sword and he knew he had to try to get out of the way. Unluckily for him, There's a big gap between knowing what to do and actually getting around to doing it. He could not use his legs at all, it was all up to his muscled arms. Every inch he moved, his leg sent strong waves of pain into his skull causing his eyes to fill with small black dots darkening his surroundings. Kai was stubborn though, and he fought the pain away, not allowing his body to black out on him.

The creature had died instantly the moment Zane's sword had connected with its brain. Its heavy body would have easily crushed the red ninja had he not started crawling out of the way. Without the help of his legs though, the ninja couldn't move fast enough. The body landed on his legs and the ninja sat there, eyes wide, muscles frozen in shock.

Zane dropped from the building and ran towards Kai. With a lot of effort, and thanks to the strong metal of his body, he managed to move the snake's body off his friend. "Kai?"

Kai didn't respond. His skin was pale and his eyes looked empty but it didn't last. In the next second Kai's eyes snapped even wider, if possible, as he stared at a small black figure falling back from the temple of lighting. Zane followed his gaze and both of them shouted in unison. " Cole!"

The yell echoed in a loud manner through the empty streets of the city, but Jay's mind had tuned out all of his surroundings. He wasn't thinking anymore, his body was working in raw instinct which was yelling at every nerve in his body to keep Nya safe. Jay's body listened and he threw himself against the big wolf and both animal and ninja rolled away in a violent mess. The blue ninja kicked and clawed at the wolf while it growled and tried to bite him. Once they stopped rolling the creature's teeth found its mark in Jay's soft and vulnerable arm.

The ninja didn't slow down at all. He didn't stop to feel the pain or gasp in shock. He just kept on attacking the wolf like it was the only thing keeping him alive. Jay had unleashed all his anger the moment he had seen his girl in danger. He was as ferocious as any other wild animal, making him a really big threat to the creature.

Perhaps the creature sensed this as well because it began fearing for its life. Maybe it couldn't win this battle. That one thought filled him with fear and it turned back into smoke, allowing the wind to take it away.

Jay sat up, refusing to look at his arm. He turned towards Nya, who was slowly moving into a sitting position as well. Her eyes weren't focused on him though. They were locked in a falling figure which was feet above them but approaching the ground at incredible speed. Jay frowned trying to make out what the shape was then his blue eyes snapped open in recognition. "Cole!"

Both of the yells had reached Naomi and Lloyd as the climbed up the mountain but neither was necessary. Naomi's eyes had seen her brother the moment he had started to fall and Lloyd's spotted him soon after. She knew his brother was in mortal danger, and she knew that if anything happened to him there would be no one to blame but her.

Which is why, when her brother's body fell she threw herself into the air and grabbed onto her brother's legs. His eyes were closed, he had surely blacked out from the shock, and his skin was pale. The stupidity of what Naomi had done hit her full force. The only thing she had accomplished by jumping onto her brother, apart from causing him to fall faster due to her added weight, was assure not only his death but hers as well. Then she felt a strong arm wrap around her stomach and she managed to see it belong to Lloyd, who was now falling with them as well.

_Now I'm responsible for his death too _Naomi's thought closing her eyes tightly, getting ready for the impact.

Lloyd wasn't planning on dying though, and he would never let any body else die if he could help it. His mind was extremely focused as he used the Naomi-free arm to pull out one of Naomi's arrows. He swung it at the rock wall with all the force his powers granted. The arrow traveled into the rock bringing all three of their free falling bodies into a stop. They were only ten feet above the ground now, Lloyd had stopped the fall just in time.

Naomi allowed herself to relax a little but a loud ripping sound brought fear back into her veins. Naomi's small hands had slipped away from her brother's legs during the fall until the only thing her fingers were able to hold on to was Cole's suit. The fabric was definetly not ready to hold Cole's weight on its own, so it had started ripping apart fast, until Naomi's fingers held only a small piece of Cole's black ninja suit.

There was a loud cracking sound as the black ninja's skull met the ground. Jay, Nya, Kai and Zane arrived just in time to see Cole's blood soaking the ground. With difficulty, Lloyd slowly climbed down holding tightly unto Naomi who ran to her brother as soon as her legs were safely on the ground.

She kneeled beside him along with Nya, who grabbed Cole's pale wrist and checked for a pulse. Nya's eyes met Naomi's. "Well.. he's alive but.. we need to get him help fast or he won't make it."

The purple eyed girl nodded and stepped back to allow Lloyd to pick up her brother's body. Kai leaned against Zane trying not to black out while fighting back tears at seeing Cole wounded. Jay sniffled and pulled Nya into a tight hug.

Zane was the only one not focused on Cole. He pointed up, towards the temple of lighting where a helicopter had landed seconds before and was now flying away. "That must be Pythor, I suspect he has managed to acquire the Chalice."

Everyone followed Zane's gaze and spotted the helicopter flying into the distance. Lloyd stared at it longer than everyone else then looked at each of his friends. The green ninja saw Kai's messed up leg, Nya's scratched face , Jay's bit arm, Naomi's tearful eyes and finally stopped at Cole's pale face.

He muttered what everyone was thinking but didn't dare say aloud. "We're losing."


	23. Numb

Chapter 23-Numb

_Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock_

The weak sound of the ticking clock wasn't loud enough to pull Naomi out of her trance. Her blank eyes showed nothing of the whirlwind of feelings and memories in her mind. After they had returned from the floating city Casey had healed Kai's leg and fixed Jay's arm then absent mindedly erased the small cuts and bruises from her and Lloyd's body. She had refused to touch her brother though. His extreme loss of blood had Cole hanging from the delicate thread between life and death and any fault in Casey's powers, be it big or small, could have caused his brother to die instantly. So the witch had refused to do anything.

_Tick_

Then came the terrifying trip to Ninjago's hospital. There had been so much blood soaking into Lloyd's suit from Cole's wounded head that Naomi had almost been sick. Once they reached the hospital her brother was rushed into the emergency section of the hospital. Everyone was forced to stay behind. Except for Naomi, a nice doctor allowed her to stay because she was Cole's sister.

_Tock_

For a second, her brother's heart stopped beating. Machines plugged into her brother's pale body ringed with a high pitched wail. Doctors flocked around her brother's body and Naomi held her breath. Then the machine started beeping again. Slow at first then becoming stedier as the seconds progressed. Her brother was okay.

_Tap Tap Tap_

Naomi's foot tapped with a strange rhythm on the white hospital floor. That sound didn't pull her back from inside her mind either. There had been only a few seconds of calm in Naomi's heart when Cole's heartbeat had returned. After that the Doctors revealed that her brother was in something called a 'coma'. Naomi didn't understand but she knew it could be nothing good. Once Cole was taken to a proper room and the others were allowed in Zane explained that a coma was when a person's mind was trapped in a dream, and there was no telling when the person would wake up.

_Tap_

That's when Naomi's mind had snapped. Her brother could be asleep forever. It was all her fault. It was all her fault that her brother could be asleep forever. Naomi's mind revolved around that single thought which didn't allow her back into reality.

_Tap_

Lloyd had tried to comfort Naomi. He'd told her stories about all the hardships Cole had endured and emphazised Cole's strength. He told Naomi that nothing could defeat the leader of the ninja and that she had nothing to worry about. He had hugged her as tight as he dared, with his cheeks flushing red, but Naomi's body stayed limp. Lloyd doubted wether she was listening at all. Then sensei had suggested a crazy plan for stopping Pythor. The main key was using the stone army, so Lloyd had reluctantly left with the others to find Dareth or as he enjoyed calling himself 'The brown ninja'. Dareth had gained control over the stone army when accidentally picking up The helmet of Darkness in the day when Lloyd had fought the overlord. Nowadays he used the warriors in his small dojo, to teach kids self defense.

_Knock Knock_

A loud sounded almost awoke Naomi's mind, but she continued to stare blankly stare at the bed in front of her where Cole lay trapped inside a dream.

_Knock Knock Knock_

Naomi frowned. She wished the sound would stop. It was causing the headache beating in her skull to become stronger.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Naomi jumped up, now fully awake. She walked towards the door, deeply annoyed, and wondered why the person knocking couldn't bother to open the door themselves. Her hand rested a few seconds on the cold metal of the door handle. She slowly turned it and pulled the door towards her body until it was fully open.

Purple eyes met with a jet black tuxedo. Naomi's eyes moved slowly upward, revealing first a bowtie, then a short, pale neck and her eyes then froze in a thick French mustache. After a few seconds the girl worked up the courage to look up a little further, stopping at a pair of light brown eyes.

Naomi stepped back a little. Her father, whom she hadn't seen in five years, was standing before her.

**(So I couldn't help but stopping here. I just need to think over some things but I'll try to upload again tomorrow, if my homework allows it)**


	24. Mistakes

Chapter 24-Mistakes

"Naomi?" There was disbelief in her father's voice. No, Naomi corrected herself, there was disbelief in _Richard's _voice. The man standing before her did not deserve to be called her father. He also didn't deserve to talk to Naomi, so she kept her hands still at her sides moving them only to step back and allow Richard in.

"What are you doing here?" He asked after a few seconds of silence. So he was determined to talk was he? Fine. Naomi needed someone to unleash all her feelings at either way. It would be nice to attack someone other than herself for a change.

_Well usually _Naomi moved her hands _When there's something wrong with a family member you stay close and help them, You can't just _Abandon _Family you know?_

She had moved her hands a little higher when signaling 'Abandon' to emphize it. Her tactic seemed to work, because Richard stayed quiet for a long while as if in unsure of how to proceed. There was a small shadow of sadness clouding his eyes, but Naomi wasn't about to feel pity for the man who had abandoned her just because she wasn't perfect.

"Are your grandparents here, then?"

Naomi's heart beat faster. She hadn't thought about her grandparents for a while. Guilt bubbled up inside her again and pushed tears against her eyes. She wasn't about to show any weakness though so , while trying to hold her head high, she moved her hands rapidly.

_They're dead_

"What!?" Shock filled Richard's eyes. "How?"

Naomi didn't want to talk about it. If she kept it in. If she kept it all in, then maybe she could hold on to the possibility that Pythor hadn't killed them. If, on the other hand, she explained everything she would bring herself closer to the reality she was so very afraid of. So instead, Naomi protected herself with a thick shield of rudeness.

_I don't have to tell you anything_

More silence followed. Richard decided not to push his daughter for further details on his parent's deaths, he could see that the subject was obviously still extremely painful and hadn't he caused her enough pain already?

He instead tried to steer the conversation towards his son. "Well what happened to Cole?"

_Nothing you'd care about_

"Of course I care! He's my son!"

This, of course, wasn't the right thing to say either.

Him _you care about, Never mind me_

Richard was getting annoyed now. His daughter was obiusly reaching her teenage phase where everything seems a tad bit more dramatic than it actually is. Of course, she had every right to feel this way but Richard couldn't see that now, he had allowed himself to be overcome with emotion the same mistake he had committed 5 years ago.

"I care about you! But if you haven't noticed _you're _not the one laying in a hospital bed!"

_No, I'm just the one you abandoned._

This statement brought Cole's father back to his senses. He had to stay calm or her daughter's hate towards him would only grow stronger. He kept his eyes on her petite body as she sat on a chair close to Cole where she began to tap her foot absent mindedly.

Richard took a deep breath. "He ran away you know."

Naomi looked up. Richard nodded towards Cole. "About four months after I sent you away, he just left. That's where I started figuring out I'd made so many mistakes."

She could see true regret in his eyes but she couldn't feel anything but anger towards him. He'd thrown her away like a piece of garbage and she just wasn't ready to forgive something like that.

_But you didn't come back for me, Did you? You still left me._

"Well as you must have figured out by now I'm a terrible father." Richard kept his eyes on Naomi. " I didn't think you deserved to be raised by me, you were always such a sweet girl.."

Naomi didn't let herself feel anything. She knew Richard could act very well and she wasn't about to get her heart tortured yet again in case he was just acting to gain her love back. Sure, the pain in his eyes seemed genuine but it's better to simply not trust people.

_Well you got the terrible father part right._

Richard gave up, he was getting nowhere. " Well tell Cole I visited. . .I understand if you don't want to forgive me, Naomi, I can make excuses all I want. Perhaps blame it on the fact that Cole has always been such a handful, Or blame it o the fact that your mother left or maybe even in your damaged vocal chords which were, for me at least, the last straw. But in the end I'm the one who decided to leave you, I'm the bad guy here not you and, even though I doubt I deserve you to forgive me, I just have to say. . . I'm sorry."

And with those words Richard stepped out, leaving Naomi with a confused heart. She didn't know whether to give up the pointless fight and forgive her father or if she should hold onto the powerful anger which gave her a false sense of strength. In the end, she only sat back down before her brother and slowly started to shut down her mind.

_Tap Tap Tap_


	25. A ninja's sister

Chapter 25-A ninja's sister

Not too long after her father had left the others returned along with a man Naomi did not know. She assumed he was the 'Dareth' guy the others had gone to find in the first place and soon her suspicions were comffirmed.

Lloyd placed his hand on the guy's shoulder, smiling slightly, glad that Naomi's eyes didn't look quiet as empty anymore. He cleared his throat fighting back the blush that tried to sneak onto his pale cheeks when her eyes met his. "Naomi this is Dareth and Dareth this is Naomi."

Naomi's eyes studied Dareth. The helmet he wore was jet black, with two lighting shape silver figures stuck on the top. He had on a cheap imitation of the other ninja's suit, except it was colored with a strong brown color. The combination of the suit and the hat, which looked somewhat like a pair of antlers depending on how you looked at them, made the guy look slightly like a stag. This fact formed a small giggle in Naomi's throat but it was pushed back by a wave of sadness when her peripheral vision reminded her that her brother was in a coma.

Casey flipped her hair in an impatient manner, its bright red color catching everyone's eye. " Shouldn't we get going? According to Garmadon," She flashed a seductive smile his way which he fought to ignore. "The Golden peaks aren't exactly around the corner and Pythor is days ahead of us."

Misako pulled her husband closer to her simple aging body while shooting a warning glance at her sister and her hourglass figure. "Thanks for stating the obvious Casey."

"Just making sure you where up to date, your brain isn't as young as it used to be after all…." Casey smiled at her sister.

Nya saw Misako open her mouth to reply an insult which would be counterattacked by another of Casey's insults which would in turn cause another insult from Misako creating an endless ping pong battle of mean worthless comments that had the potential to go on forever, thus granting Pythor enough time to finish up his evil plan. Knowing this, Nya cleared her throat stopping what could have turned out to be an apocalyptic battle between sisters.

"_Anyway,_" Kai's sister then said in a loud voice attracting everyone's attention. "Me and Jay have been messing around with the bounty for a while and we could reach the golden peaks in no time."

Jay puffed out his chest with a proud smile. "I'm pretty sure we're close to the speed of sound by now! All thanks to my genius. . . And Nya's of course." Jay quickly added the last sentence after his girlfriend elbowed him on the ribs.

"Excellent." Sensei smiled. "The bounty is just outside the city well let's get going!"

Everyone slowly poured out of the room. Lloyd turned to follow but noticed Naomi wasn't moving so he turned back around to face her. "Come on Naomi, Don't you want to kick Pythor's butt? There's no way he can beat us if he have the stone army."

_I can't leave him _Naomi's hands didn't move at their usual speed, she slowed her fingers down to make it easier for Lloyd to grasp their meaning.

"He'll… He'll be fine." Lloyd stuttered chuckling weakly. "Besides it will be very satisfying to finally beat Pythor, Don't you want to finally beat him?"

Naomi shook her head. _You guys can do that, You don't really need me_

"I thought you'd want to shoot an arrow up his butt or something." Lloyd chuckled once again trying to push away the blush. When Naomi didn't smile he ran his hand through his hair awkwardly.

_I'm staying_

Lloyd sighed. "Ok we'll be back then. . ." He stepped out, feeling slightly confused.

_I suppose she'll be safer this way _He thought heading after the others

_Then why do you feel disappointed? _His conscience snapped back.

_I don't know, I just thought she was. . . More like me I guess, that she'd stop at nothing till the world's safe or. . . I don't know_

_Or maybe you thought she'd go to any length to protect you because that's how you feel about her_

_. . . Well she was right I don't really need her, I'm Lloyd Garmadon I don't need anybody_

_Yeah right_

Meanwhile Naomi sat beside her brother messing with his jet black hair wondering why'd he would let it grow so long. She was so blinded by her own mindless thoughts she didn't register Cole's breath slowly becoming steadier. He grunted softly and Naomi snatched her hand back her sudden movement sending the chair, and her startled body, back against the floor. She picked herself up and stared at her brother with wide eyes.

His eyelids shuddered and Naomi's heart beat faster. Then the eyelids parted to reveal Cole's sweet brown eyes. She blinked a couple of times, What had happened to the creepy crimson? Was it possible it could have worn off? Or maybe the evil had bled out along with most of his blood? And why was she so worried about this? She'd figure it out sometime, but for now the only thing that mattered was that her brother was finally awake. "Naomi? What. . . Where am I?"

Naomi explained everything as fast as she could and her hands ached by the time she'd finished explaining about how the others were about to leave and stop Pythor from becoming an all-powerful snake.

Cole groaned loudly. "And I'm gonna miss the fight! Gaah!"

He turned to Naomi. "So why are you here? As a ninja's sister should always kick bad guys butts and of course you have to avenge me, Humiliate Pythor for me and stuff. . . . "

_Well I don't think I'm a very good fighter, I'd only get in the way _Naomi pointed out.

"Hey, you're _my _sister Naomi, Badassnes runs in our family." He pushed her thick hair away from her bright purple eyes. "Now please get to the bounty and keep the world safe in my place."

Naomi nodded then ran out of the room, out of the hospital, as fast as her small legs could carry her. She had wanted to go with the others all along, but every time she was anywhere close to a battle someone got hurt and her mind always twisted the facts to make it look like it all was her fault. But she couldn't let fear hold her back. The best way to make sure others didn't get hurt wasn't to stand back, it was to be there and stand up to whatever the danger may be.

A good distance away, Lloyd climbed onto the bounty while still arguing with himself. He kept looking back, part of him wishing Naomi would be behind him the other part reminding him that he didn't need anyone. Before walking into the main control room where the others were waiting, he turned towards the city one last time.

Naomi's muscles burned. She could see the Bounty in the distance but it was too far. She wasn't fast enough. One of her shoelaces lashed out causing her to trip, the skin on her knees peeling away with the impact. She did her best to ignore the stinging and kept running, her heart beating even faster when she saw the ship rising slowly off the ground.

Lloyd sighed feeling like an idiot. Naomi wasn't coming. He had to accept that. He stepped back and almost lost his balance as the ship left off the ground. He started to turned away but had to do a double take when he spotted a small moving figure heading fast in their direction.

Naomi saw Lloyd standing the middle of the ship, staring at her general direction. She waved her arms frantically. Her lips spread into a smile when he waved back. He had seen her. She would make it.

"Nya!" Lloyd yelled at the top of his lungs. "Stop! It's Naomi! She's Coming!"

The ship stopped rising. Naomi reached it breathlessly then climbed on with the help of Lloyd's strong grip.

"I thought you didn't want to come." Lloyd said trying to sound angry but the smile on his face didn't help his cause.

_And miss the fight?_ Naomi's hands said slowly.

Lloyd's smile grew bigger. Naomi was every bit as amazing as he expected the perfect girl to be.


	26. The flames of hate

Chapter 26-The flames of hate

Jay hadn't lied, The ship moved at an incredible speed. Once the engines had been set in motion no one was allowed out on the bridge, the ship's momentum would surely throw anyone overboard. With their destination only a couple of minutes away Lloyd's stomach started to feel funny. He knew that this time they had the upper hand, but his body refused to relax. Every now and then a wave of nerves would overwhelm his body sending an uncomfortable, tingly sensation up his skin. According to what the green ninja remembered about his training with Cole, nerves were good before battle. They 'Kept you on edge and ready for anything' or so the ninja's leader claimed.

To make the waiting seem even longer, Lloyd didn't get to spend any time with Naomi. He was stuck in between his mother's argument with Casey, because every time he tried to make his escape Garmadon would shoot him a 'don't-you-dare-leave-me-alone-in-this' look. So Lloyd was trapped with only his mind as a way to distract himself and push time forward. None of his thoughts were helpful. One half kept being paranoid about the upcoming battle and the other thought about Naomi and whatever she might be doing.

His skin boiled with jealousy as the thought of her hanging out with the other guys surfaced. What if she decided they were better than him? He stared hard at his reflection. She was bound to notice how Kai's crimson eyes outshined his own, or how Jay's hair was smoother or the fact that Zane was way more entertaining than Lloyd could ever be.

"We're here!"Garmadon's voice was thick with relief.

Lloyd took a deep breath, causing his whole body to shake with yet another wave of nerves. He quickly stepped out of the main control room, scanning every inch of the ship for Naomi. He finally met up with her outside the ship, where Dareth was leading the stone army to the base of the Golden Peaks.

Lloyd looked at Naomi, who seemed as nervous as he, then at his fellow ninjas. Since Cole was still gone, the green ninja felt responsible for filling in the leader's empty gap. Now what did the ninja of earth do before a battle?

_Go over the plan._

_We don't _have _a plan._

_Say something comforting…?_

_Fire away_

"So are you guys ready?" Lloyd asked, feeling really stupid. Being a leader was definitely harder than it looked. "We've got Pythor cornered, and with the stone army we can't be beaten let's just make sure to keep Pythor from climbing the golden peaks, He's got the chalice and if he drinks from that lake we're pretty much screwed. If the worst comes to pass we can always just push him into the lake he's so fat he'd probably sink like a stone."

Jay chuckled at Lloyd's feeble attempt at humor, but then again Jay laughed at everything.

"Actually Lloyd." Zane's monotone voice muttered. "Pushing Pythor into the lake would most likely destroy him, since the power of the lake would overwhelm his body. He wouldn't have enough time to sink like a stone."

"Ah.. Right." Lloyd sighed, leave it to Zane to ruin his already un-funny joke. "Let's go then!"

Naomi clutched her bow tightly, her skin pale and her muscles shaking. To be honest with herself, she was completely terrified but she was still determined to protect everyone. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if anyone else got hurt.

Casey was the first one to reach the camp. In less than a second, she had turned half of the camp to ashes with a massive and beautiful fireball than destroyed everything it came in contact with. She was followed by the stone army, who started attacking the smoke creatures as they tried to turn into other deadly creatures.

There were now dragons, serpentine, skeletons, giant wolves and more than two great devourers. It made no difference. The stone army wasn't capable of fear or pain so they kept coming at the creatures, they're indestructible bodies protecting them from what could have caused death in mortals. The few creatures that didn't get destroyed by the army had Casey's fire to face or Sensei's deadly spinjitzu.

The nerves in Lloyd stomach didn't settle down in the face of victory, but worsened every second. The battle had been going on for a while but he still hadn't seen Pythor's purple scales.

Naomi shook him violently and he turned to face her wide fearful eyes. Her small arm was pointing up the side of the mountain where a small purple speck was climbing higher and higher, to the top of the peaks.

To the Golden Lake.

Lloyd spun around to face the battle. "Jay! Kai! Zane! Come with me we gotta stop Pythor!"

He started to climb the mountain, Naomi right on his heels. He looked down at her and asked. "Would I be wasting my time if I tried to make you stay?"

When she shook her head Lloyd smiled a little, but had to do a double take when he spotted his parents had started climbing behind the ninja. "Mom! Dad! I … you should stay.. I don't.. if something bad happens…"

"Lloyd!"His father yelled back, climbing at a great speed for a man his age. "Shut up and keep climbing."

The green ninja knew his father was as stubborn as him, if not more, and knew it was no use arguing. He climbed higher, ignoring the burn in his muscles. Pythor was ahead of them, but they were definetly catching up. Lloyd's heart pounded faster. Would they make it in time?

His strong fingers grabbed hold of the highest peak and he pushed himself forward. The others were close behind. Naomi was last, her fingers were coated in sweat making them slippery and her body had been pushed far past its limit. Out of breath and with a sick stomach she reached everyone else.

Even before looking up she knew something was very wrong ,The thick suffocating silence was the first give away. Slowly, she looked up and felt a scream catch in her throat. Pythor was standing in front of the lake, Chalice in hand. She looked at the others wondering why no one was moving. Then she saw a golden liquid dripping from Pythor's deadly fangs. He had already drunk from the lake.

They had failed.

"It's exhilarating." Pythor laughed. "All the power in my body…. I Am A God!"

He laughed louder. The sound hurt Naomi's brain.

"I can do anything I want. . . But I wouldn't want to hurt the little girl just yet… " Pythor raised his arm and pointed it and Naomi's small body. She lifted a couple of feet of the ground. The scream in her throat grew bigger but she could not release it. She couldn't move at all. A dark smile grew on Pythor's lips. The snake flicked his arm to the left of him and Naomi's body flew along with it. Her head hit the ground hard and she was out cold before the rest of her body touched the Golden Peaks.

"Naomi!" Lloyd and Kai yelled in perfect unison.

"Now that she's out of the way. . ." Pythor centered his vision on The green ninja. "Let's have some fun."


	27. The Green ninja's strenght

Chapter 27-The Green Ninja's strength

"So how bout we start by trying my powers of creation?" Pythor smiled.

Jay wrapped his arms around Nya's small body and forced her to step back. Misako's eyes looked everywhere, her mind working fast trying to find a way out of this mess. Garmadon stared down Pythor, with anger burning thick through his eyes. Kai and Lloyd simply stared at Naomi's body, their muscles limp and in shock. Nobody made a move towards Pythor. Nobody had a chance against him now that the golden lake's waters flowed through the serpentine's blood.

Pythor tilted his head sideways, trying to imagine a deadly trap for the ninja. He held out his hand, aiming it towards Jay, who was still pulling Nya back further away from the snake. Pythor extended his fingers, and out of the black palm of his hand shot a lightning bolt, hitting Jay straight in the chest missing his heart only by a couple of millimeters.

For a few seconds, Jay's body shuddered violently as he experience extreme pain. His heart beat with painful force against his chest. His eyes watered and his skin burned. His brain pounded against his skull and the blue ninja fell to his knees. He fell to his knees gasping for breath.

"Not so good when it's used against you is it?" Pythor smiled. This was so much better than he thought it would be.

"You. . . You hurt him again and I'll _kill _you!" Nya screamed at the top of her lungs. She pulled out a small shurikan from her pocket and threw it straight at Pythor, aiming for the snakes throat.

"I thought we'd already established I can control things," The serpentine chuckled, absent mindedly flicking his writs at the shurikan, which shot back at the samurai. It hit her neck, splitting the skin open, splattering the ground with blood.

"You bastard!" Kai ran at Pythor swinging his sword wildly, the ninja didn't have a plan or a strategy. His temper had once more clouded his mind and the only thing he wanted to do was inflict as much pain as he could on the serpentine.

"Your turn, is it, young fire-starter?" Pythor stretched his hands towards the red ninja, Fire shooting through his finger tips. Kai managed to block most of the attack whit his sword, but the skin on his cheeks was touched by the fire, sending waves of pain through his body. Smoke invaded his lungs and the red ninja fell back, his coughs shaking his whole body.

Zane saw his chance when Pythor was focused on the attack and ran at the snake. The nindroid still remembered they pushed the snake into the golden lake. The green ninja had meant it as a mere joke but now Zane saw that this was probably the only chance they had at defeating the Purple snake. The ninja of ice activated his sword, its metal flashing against the sun, giving Pythor a warning sign.

"And now. . ." The snake whispered turning towards Zane. "We test the powers of destruction. . ."

Zane lifted his sword and swung it at Pythor. The snake reached out towards the nindroid, and in a flash of dark smoke the ninja was gone.

Everyone on top of the mountain froze. Kai's eyes widened and tears flowed freely from Nya's eyes as she tried to stop the blood from her wound. Misako and Garmadon gasped, finally grasping the danger they were in. Lloyd felt the whole weight of the world press down on his shoulders, How was he going to save the world this time?

And Pythor? Pythor simply stared at his hands, His brain trying to process the incredible power he now had within his fingertips.

"Seems like I'll win this time." He turned to face Lloyd's pale face and hurt eyes. " Let's say goodbye to our little hero."

He flicked his wrist at Lloyd and thick cloud of smoke covered his body. The green ninja felt like nothing. . . But then he was whole again. His suit glowed brightly until it turned golden once again. His golden dragon stood beside him, curling one of his wings protectively around Lloyd's body.

"Ah. . . So you stand a chance against my power huh?" Pythor did not lose his smile. "If I can't physically destroy you. . . . Lets see how far I can push your so called strength. . ."

Lloyd stared at Pythor, readying his body for any attack the snake might be planning.

What the green ninja didn't know, couldn't have known, was that the anacondria, with his sick twisted mind, wasn't planning on destroying Lloyd's body.

The anacondrai was aiming for the boy's heart.

"Say goodbye to your friends . . ." Pythor aimed his open palm at Kai, who disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Jay's eyes widened and he stood in front of Nya blocking her from Pythor's sight. In the next second the ninja of lighting was gone too. Nya's body was gone soon after.

Lloyd felt sick. Tears pounded against his eyes but he held them back determined to keep the fight going. If he could only get rid of Pythor, his mother would surely know how to bring his friends back. With his body shaking, he aimed a beam of energy towards Pythor, pushing him back a couple of feet.

The serpentine's eyes lit up with anger. "Still get fight left in you is there!?"

He flicked his wrist towards Misako. She vanished.

"Mom!" Lloyd yelled the tears finally running down his somewhat chubby cheeks. His vision blurred. He stumbled towards his dad, a sick feeling weighting down on his stomach. "Dad . . . Dad R-run. . ."

Garmadon shook his head, knowing it was no use. "I believe in you son. . . . Show that little snake what we Garmadon's are capable of."

And with another flick of Pythor's wrist, he was gone.

Lloyd fell on his hands and knees, while Pythor stood back enjoying the ninja's pain. Lloyd's green eyes were red and thick with tears. Hiccups shook his body. He couldn't believe this was happening. There was no point in anything anymore. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do anything. He was just a kid.

_They're gone. They're gone. They're gone._

The words ran through his mind over and over, breaking his heart into millions and millions of pieces. How could something go so terribly wrong? He couldn't fix it. He couldn't bring his parents back. He couldn't bring his friends back. The only thing he could do was curl up into a ball and wait for Pythor to finish him off. He looked up slightly wondering why Pythor wasn't attacking.

That's when he saw her. Naomi was only a blur through his tears but her sight was enough. He couldn't fail her, could he? The dark blur that was her hair reminded her of Cole, lying in the hospital bed completely confident in the fact that Lloyd would keep the world safe. Then Lloyd thought of all the other innocent people, going about their lives believing that everything was ok. Who was Lloyd to ruin everyone's lives? From the minute he had slipped into the green ninja suit he had taken the responsibility of protecting everyone. The world didn't care if he was a kid or not, he still had a job to do.

He slowly got to his feet, wiping away his tears. "You can't beat me Pythor."

He shot another bolt of energy towards Pythor but this time the snake managed to block it and shoot it back at Lloyd. The green ninja was forced back while the energy burned his skin causing him to almost black out.

"Can't I now?" Pythor spat back. He materialized a sword out of thin air, shooting it towards Lloyd using the wind. The green ninja dodged it at first, but the sword kept slashing at his sensitive skin, every cut more lethal than the last.

Naomi witnessed everything. She's saw Lloyd's parents disappear, but her body was to weak and she was thrown into unconsciousness again. And now she saw Lloyd being beaten by the sword. Her head was pounding and she felt thick warm blood running down her neck. Her stomach felt sick.

But she knew she had to do something.

But what could a little girl do? She didn't have her brother's strength. She didn't have anything. She had hurt more people in their little adventure than she had helped. She was weak. She was probably the weakest girl in the planet.

That's when she realized something.

_True strength isn't about how many guys I can defeat in a fight _She told herself _It's about how much you're willing to sacrifice for those you love_

She ran towards Pythor, who was way too focused on hurting Lloyd to care about anything else. Naomi knew that she couldn't fight against Pythor, he was far too powerful for her to defeat.

But fighting wasn't in the girl's mind.

Instead of slowing down as she approached her target, Naomi's legs sped up instead. Pythor finally turned it but it was too late.

The purple-eyed sacrifice slammed against Pythor with the full weight of her body, sending them both flying into the golden depths of the lake.


	28. The kiss

Chapter 28-The kiss

"Naomi!" Lloyd yelled at the top of his lungs. Tears blurred his vison but he could see the lake glimmer a few feet in front of him. He stood, knowing that jumping in would be certain death but he had to pull Naomi out. She couldn't be gone. Not her.

Lloyd ran, yet a pair of strong arms held his shaking body in place.

"She's gone Lloyd," It was sensei's voice. "But she saved us all."

He was lying. Lloyd wanted to yell at him, but all that emerged from his burning throat were sobs.

"Where are the others?" This time it was a woman's voice. Lloyd's heart skipped a beat.

_Mom? _His mind whispered full of hope. Green tearful eyes looked up, expecting to see his mother. To see in her eyes that everything would be alright. If she was back she would fix everything, she could always fix everything. His eyes met only a blur of red, and he knew it was Casey's hair.

His mom was gone.

The truth hit him hard and his body fell to its knees. That meant that his Dad was also gone. Kai? Jay? Zane?

It couldn't be true.

_Naomi?_

It wasn't true.

_Where are the others Lloyd? Where are the others? _A mocking voice in his mind echoed.

"Gone," Lloyd's voice didn't sound normal. It was raspy and it shook with every syllable. "Pythor and power and smoke and Gone."

His mind didn't want to cooperate. He felt empty and Numb.

"So he did manage to drink from the lake. . ." The sadness in Sensei's voice forced more tears out of Lloyd's red eyes.

_Shut up! _He wanted to yell _They're okay! They're okay! They're okay!_

His lips wouldn't move.

"At least he's gone now," Casey shrugged, trying to lighten the mood.

Lloyd's body shivered. How could Casey's voice be so calm? He wanted to kick her, rip out he throat and make her take back all her words. He wanted to destroy her. And sensei. Why wouldn't he let him save Naomi? He deserved to die. And so did Cole. For encouraging Noami to go with them. Couldn't he just have let her stay and be safe? He would kill them. All of them.

A splashing sound brought him back to reality. He blinked the tears away.

Naomi's body slowly emerged out of the water, her skin glowing bright. Her clothes dried as soon as the water stop touching her body. Her skin was dry too, all the powerful water had soaked into her now glowing skin.

It was too much water. Too much power.

"Naomi!" Lloyd smiled. Sensei relased him and Lloyd ran to the purple eyed girl's body.

The power pulsed at Naomis's eyeballs making the world spin violently around her. She lost control of her body and fell upon Lloyd's waiting arms. Her vision managed to focus in his tearful face but everything around Lloyd was a mess of colors.

"Are you. . . Ok?" The hope in Lloyd's voice had faded. Something was wrong.

"Of course she's not ok." Casey came up behind Lloyd."She touched the water, the power will rip her apart. She might be all-powerful right now, but she won't last."

"Shut up!" Lloyd yelled at the witch."She's gonna be fine you don't know anything!"

_All-powerful? _Naomi wondered, then remember seeing Pythor use his powers, the way he had destroyed the others. _Maybe. . ._

_I want Misako_

There was a flash of gorgeous golden light. Misako's body slowly reappeered.

_It worked! _

Maybe Naomi would die but she didn't care. It would all be worth it if she could bring everyone back. To finally be able to save them all.

_I want Kai. . and Jay and Nya and Zane and Lloyd's dad._

One by one they all reformed in their own flashed of light. Lloyd couldn't care less. The only thing that mattered to him at the moment was that the person his heart cared most for was slowly wasting away within his arms.

Pain filled Naomi's head and her vison went in and out of focus.

"No!" There was a small pause as Lloyd gasped for air. "You can't leave me."

She could feel his tears falling upon her glowing cheeks. Naomi's heart beat painfully against her chest. Could she get one last wish?

_I want. . . I want to talk._

A wonderful feeling rose up in her throat forcing a weak smile upon her lips. Had it worked?

"Lloyd. . ." Her voice whispered making her smile once more. It was the most beautiful voice she could ever imagine herself having. Her smile disappeered when she remembered that she only had a limited time to enjoy it.

The green ninja pulled her close and she could feel his beating heart. "N-Naomi? Y-You talked. . ."

"Yes. . ." It was hard for her to finally taste the words in her small mouth. " I needed to say. . . Please don't be sad. . . I want. . . You happy ok?"

"H-how?" Lloyd sobbed. "You're everything to me now, I can't live without you."

"You're strong Lloyd. . ." A cough escaped her lips and Lloyd's face was a blur once more. She was running out of time. " You can do this. . . do it for me. . . I . . . I love you."

Naomi's eyes started to close but she fought to keep them open.

"D-Ditto," was the only word Lloyd could babble.

WIth his arms shaking he leaned in and carefully placed his lips upon hers. Naomi's skin glowed brighter.

Then Lloyd's skin started to glow as well.

Lloyd's dragon, who was standing a few feet back stepped closer, laying his wing on the green ninja's back. The others saw this as a sign of mutual sorrow, but Sensei knew better.

The dragon was taking away the power in Naomi's blood.

Slowly, very slowly Lloyd moved away. Naomi blinked a couple of times, and the world around her refocused. Was this really what death felt like? It couldn't be. Her body wasn't flooded in pain anymore and she wasn't dizzy. The power in her eyes had gone.

Lloyd knew something was different. For one, Naomi's skin wasn't glowing and second, he felt slightly more powerful than before.

"Naomi?" Lloyd smiled.

"Lloyd." She smiled back.

"I. Am. Officially. Lost." Jay said. "What happened?"

"It seems that Lloyd's dragon took Naomi's power. "Sensei explained. "In the brief, ahem, brief _connection _they shared Lloyd was able to take the power away, therefore saving Naomi's life."

"And Just in time too." Misako smiled.

"So I get to keep my voice" Naomi couldn't keep the smile off her lips.

"It appeers so," Casey shrugged, a little sad that the drama had died down.

"Oh boy." Naomi slowly stood up." I can't wait to see my brother's face when he finds out!"


	29. The end ?

Chapter 29-The end. . ?

"So Lloyd," Jay punched the green ninja playfully on the shoulder as the walked down the hospital's gleaming white hallway. "Did you put some tongue action in that kiss?"

Lloyd's ears blushed bright red.

Naomi giggled, enjoying her voice more and more. "Nah he's not that good yet."

"Oh Naomi I really wish you'd gotten your voice sooner," Jay laughed. "You could be almost as funny as me, if you practice carefully."

"Just for the record Jay," Nya fuffled the lighting ninja's hair. " You aren't exactly the best kisser either."

"Well said sis," Kai chuckled, his eyes wondering over to Naomi's bright smile.

" Oh Lloyd I don't know about this whole dating thing. . . . You're just a baby." Misako stroked Lloyd's hair.

"Mom. . ." The green ninja protested, blushing slightly harder.

"Don't say that Misako, " Garmadon wrapped his arm around his wife. "You were far younger when you first kissed _me_."

Misako's eyes widened and she smacked Garmadon in the back of the head. "I wasn't _that _young. . . ."

"It was a very sloppy kiss if I remember correctly. . . " Casey muttered.

"At least _I _got a kiss, " Misako replied.

"Either way. " Garmadon patted his son's shoulder. "I think you made a nice catch with Naomi."

"Yeah yeah I know," The green ninja said absent-mindedly, trying to keep his blushing under control.

Naomi reached Cole's room first, and burst in without knocking. The earth ninja, who had been dozing off, jumped about a mile off the bed and barely supressed the scream of surprise pushing at his throat.

"God Dang it Naomi are you trying to give me a heart attack?" He yelled.

"Perhaps," Naomi giggled, loving the soft tickle her voice caused on her throat whenever she spoke.

Cole blinked. "You talked."

"Yup."

"You. . .You did it again." The ninja of earth frowned then tilted to the side, to try and see if there was someone behind his sister talking for her. There was no one. "But you can't talk"

"Well now I can," Naomi kept smiling, then stepped forward as the others entered the room.

Cole fell back against his soft pillow. " Oh I get it, I'm dead aren't I? Yes that's probably it. . . . Anytime now a pair of hot angels will walk in and welcome me to heaven. . . and there'll be lots of cake. . ."

"Cole, Cole, Cole," Jay said shaking his head. "You're not dead and by the way being retarded is _my _thing if you don't mind."

"So no hot angels?"

"Sadly no." The blue ninja answered and recived a smack on the head from Nya. "Ow. . . "

Cole covered his face with his hand then gently massaged his eyes. "Alright let's pretend for a moment that I am actually alive and this isn't a dream, would anyone care to explain what the heck has happened since you guys left?"

"I think Naomi should have the honor," Kai nodded his head towards the purple eyed girl." She was the hero after all. . . Only because I wasn't there though."

And so Naomi retold everything that had occured in the last couple of hours. At first she started by stating the facts, but then the joy of being able to talk overtook her and she started to act it all out. Her voice deepened in an effort to imitate Pythor then managed to do Lloyd's voice almost perfectly. She described everything in great detail, with a little help from the green ninja to fill in the parts in which she had been uncounssious. Cole listened intenly, slowly coming to accept that this really was reality.

Naomi took a deep breath. "And that's pretty much how I got my voice."

"So," The ninja of earth turned to face Lloyd, with a scary look in his eyes. "Who exactly gave you permission to kiss my sister."

"Uh. . ." Lloyd scratched the back of his head. ". . I saved her though. . ?"

"Well she could've saved herself you had no reason at all to do that. . . oh if only I had my full strenght. . . "

"Cole! Is that really all you got from my story? Look, I like him he likes me so what's the problem?" The earth ninja's sister said.

"Look Naomi, you're too young and you're not ready and-"

"I think," Sensei cleared his throat." That in view of the circumstances, after everything Naomi has managed to accomplished in such a short time, It is time for you to stop seeing her as a little girl, Cole."

Cole sighed. " It's just. . . Fine, but I swear Lloyd if you hurt her in anyway. . . You're so dead."

"God guys are all the same," Nya shook her head while shooting a look at her own brother.

"What?" Kai squeaked.

The samurai rolled her eyes. "Nothing. . . Nothing,"

"I guess this is the end of our little adventure," Casey ran her soft hand through her fiery hair. "Too bad. . . I was almost beggining to like you guys."

"Maybe now we can get a break from this ninja bussiness. " Jay threw himself onto one of the chairs. " I mean it's _summer _we should be partying and stuff. . . Not saving the world from evil."

"A break?" Lloyd chuckled. " As if, you know Ninjago can't go five minutes without getting into trouble."

"Maybe," Naomi sat on her brother's bed. " But at least we can relax for now."

Sensei smiled. "Relax? Why, Naomi, if you're gonna be staying with us your training still has a long way to go. . ."

**Epilogue**

Hours later, Casey was back within her forest where wild creatures peeked curioulsy at her flaming hair. She sat against the grass, her body burning everything around until she was sitting in a thick pile of ashes. The witch smiled up at the moon then allowed a soft, dangerous giggle to escape her lips.

It was time.

Years ago, she had read about The Devil's box but the story stated that only a purple-eyed child would be able to find it.

Well now Casey had found the child, or more like the child had found her. A soft freeze tickled her pale cheeks while she sang a strange and creepy tune.

_One of Fire,Two of blood_

_Three in storm, Four trapped in flood_

_Five entwined in anger, Six soaked within hate_

_Seven's what you fear, Evil lives in eight_

_Nine will cause you sorrow, Ten burning with pain_

_Eleven holds death's hand, Twelve life again_

_Twelve little keys for the devil's box_

_Open and consume the soul's of the world_

"Tick, tock tick tock," She whispered then giggled once more.

It was time to unleashed beautiful chaos into the boring world.

**(So. . . OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIVE I FINISHED IT! Yes, I will definetly write a sequel as you can probably tell. . . I promise I'll try to publish it next week so you guys had better read it! . . . If you want of course not gonna force you anything. . . But if you don't read it Casey will probably burn your hair. . . Either way I have just one question. . . Did you like it? It was the funnest thing for me to do and I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. . . By the way all of you that stuck with me to the end. . . Thank you! Thank you! thank you! I couldn't have done it without the inspiration/hyperness all of your views,reviews, favorites and follows caused. Hope you enjoyed the ride -TombRaiderNinja)**


	30. TRN

**TombRaiderNinja here with a final Thank you to you awesome ninjas that read my story and also a heads up, The sequel has been uploaded! **


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